Lucky Duck has been teasing fans of The Masked Singer throughout season 13 with extra clues about contestants, but his identity has remained a secret — until now.
During the Wednesday, April 30, episode of the Fox competition series, Lucky Duck was unmasked as Taiki Waititi, otherwise known as the husband of panelist Rita Ora.
“I spend most of my time on massive movie sets — even bigger than The Hangover,” Lucky Duck shared before his true identity was revealed. “There’s not an Oscar I don’t know.”
While panelist Robin Thicke originally thought it could be Nicolas Cage, Lucky Duck decided to play by his own rules and reveal himself ahead of schedule.
“Judging by the way these guys are guessing things, they will get it completely wrong.,” Lucky Duck revealed. “They’ll think it’s Meryl Streep under here. I’m taking this mask off myself.”
Lucky Duck was introduced earlier this year as part of the “Lucky Season 13” theme, occasionally popping up to tease the judges with additional hints about contestants. He played a similar role to Cluedle-Doo, who appeared in season 5. (Cluedle-Doo was eventually revealed to be Donnie Wahlberg, husband of panelist Jenny McCarthy.)
While Waititi, 49, was a welcome surprise, some fans believed Lucky Duck would turn out to be Nicole Scherzinger, who has been on hiatus from the show since 2023. The former Pussycat Dolls singer, 46, has been starring in a revival of the musical Sunset Blvd., first in London’s West End and now on Broadway.
Ora, 34, has filled in for her since season 11 when she was introduced with an episode titled, “Rita We Love Your Ora.”
“Well, of course I was familiar by doing the U.K. show for about five seasons, and when they asked me to do this one, I was so excited,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2024. “I just felt like 100 percent [yes] because I already knew the show so well, and I just love it and I love the excitement of it. It’s just so crazy and it’s like a huge game show, and such a great family show. You can’t really go wrong.”
In the same Q&A, Ora noted that Waititi can sing but said she didn’t think he’d ever agree to appear on The Masked Singer.
“Taika likes to think he can sing. Actually, no. You know what? He can,” she said. “He’s actually an amazing guitar player and he loves music. I don’t know if he’d do the show though. I don’t think he’d be able to survive in that costume for too long.”
Ora and Waititi tied the knot in 2022 but didn’t publicly share the news until the following year.
“She proposed to me, and I said yes instantly,” Waititi told Vogue in 2023, adding that only “about eight people” attended. “Yeah, it was beautiful. Just having close friends and not having it too big. We didn’t have table settings or any of the stressful things that go along with weddings, and it was nice to just have it super-simple.”
The Masked Singer airs on Fox Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Hulu.
