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The worst guesses on The Masked Singer season 3 so far

Plus, Nicole Scherzinger tells EW why she doesn't turn to Google for help.

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Published on April 2, 2020 09:46PM EDT

As much fun as the panelists on The Masked Singer have brought into our lives, they have a pretty poor track record when it comes to actually correctly guessing the disguised contestants’ identities. Let’s not forget last season, when Ken Jeong was convinced Bjork was on the show based on practically nothing.

This season, the clues are harder than ever, which means the celebrity investigators are also making more out-there guesses, dropping names like Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Beto O’Rourke, and Johnny Knoxville. Some of the guesses were flawed because it was just so unlikely the celeb would get inside a crazy costume to sing on TV week after week, while other times the clues about the contestant and the celeb guess just did not add up at all. The panelists have been proven wrong numerous times already, now that more than half of the masked singers have been booted.

Earlier this year, panelist Nicole Scherzinger admitted to EW that yes, the panelists “have not guessed many right this season.” She also revealed she doesn’t turn to Google for help.

“No, I’m really bad. I don't go on the internet a lot anyways in general,” she said. “This year they're trying to throw us a lot off even more so it wouldn't even help to do that. You’ll see why because we’ve not guessed many right this season — you'll see.”

As for Jeong, who’s also behind many of this season’s most ridiculous guesses, Scherzinger said her colleague stands behind them, even if he can’t believe what comes out of his mouth sometimes.

“In Ken's own world, he’s for real. We’re really special to have him; there’s no one else like him out there,” she said. “I know my nieces are a big fan of him. Everybody loves Ken Jeong. He's just fun and outrageous and out there and sometimes, yes, sometimes I don't even think he believes his own self.”

Not to toot our own horns, but if you’re looking for researched sleuthing, EW has some predictions for you. But if you want a laugh (which is one of the many reasons to watch The Masked Singer), here are the panelists’ most hilariously weird and wrong suggestions for season 3 so far.

Masked Singer — Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images; Michael Becker/FOX; Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

1. All of the panelists’ awful guesses for Robot

Robot was revealed to be Lil Wayne in the show’s season 3 premiere. Looking back, it was hilarious how far off the panelists were, given that the rapper’s voice is so recognizable. The celebrity “detectives” hewed so close to the skateboarding and stunts clues that they went gung-ho it was an athlete or stunt performer, naming Floyd Mayweather, Shaun White (that was courtesy of Robin Thicke), Steve-O, and Knoxville. We're not sure what’s funnier -- that they were so wrong, or how much Thicke has been shaken to the core at his inability to guess Wayne, his frequent collaborator. It’s continued to haunt him throughout this season.

2. Fabio as White Tiger

Rob Gronkowski, the first of the Super Nine to be unmasked, wishes he had Fabio's locks. Jeong made the deadly mistake of getting hung up on one single clue -- a closeup of butter -- that convinced him the former I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spokesman was White Tiger. So all the New England and sports clues must’ve slipped him by, huh?

3. Chris Evans as Turtle

Everyone clowns on Jeong so much that they forget the other panelists have had some doozies as well. While Jenny McCarthy has a better track record overall (she rightly predicted Gronk and JoJo Siwa as T-Rex), she lost some credibility with her out-there prediction that Turtle could be Captain America himself, Chris Evans, despite the contestant being dwarfed by 6-foot host Nick Cannon on stage. She relied on Turtle’s superhero clue for her guess, and Scherzinger backed her up: "Evans is a method actor. His shoulders might have shrunk,” the Pussycat Doll said.

4. For the love of god, please stop guessing Johnny Knoxville

Knoxville’s name has been invoked so many times this season, for Robot, Banana, and Llama, that it would be a travesty if the actor and stuntman doesn’t eventually appear on the show, just to shut the panelists up. They’re 0 for 2 so far — Robot was Wayne, Llama was revealed to be Drew Carey, and while Banana hasn’t been unpeeled yet, EW is sure he’s Poison frontman Bret Michaels. At this point, our sleuths need to retire Knoxville for good.

5. Mayim Bialik as Night Angel

Guest panelist Will Arnett got off to a great start on episode 9, shrewdly noticing clues tying Night Angel to Good Times' Penny, the character played by Janet Jackson on the hit ‘70s sitcom. Then he got too into word association, and leapt all the way to another sitcom star, Mayim Bialik, of Blossom and The Big Bang Theory fame. Just stick to Legos, pal, and leave the guessing to the … well, experts wouldn’t be the right term for Jeong and company.

6. Eddie Vedder and Donald Glover as Astronaut

Jeong’s most inspired predictions for the spaceman included Eddie Vedder and Donald Glover, two very different artists, neither of whom matched the singer's clues or voice. Other guesses for Astronaut were Adam Devine, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson, Corey Feldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Archuleta, and Ryan Tedder. Basically, if you’re a smaller in stature man who can sing, your name was uttered by the panelists for Astronaut.

7. Kourtney Kardashian as T-Rex

Jeong was definitely trolling when he said Kourtney Kardashian could be T-Rex, who arrived on stage with the combined energy of 25 toddlers. Even McCarthy clowned him by imitating the eldest Kardashian’s famously monotone voice. He looked even worse when the dino was unmasked to be JoJo Siwa, who, if you look in the dictionary, has her picture displayed next to the definition of “hyperactive.” Not to mention their 8-inch height difference.

8. Paris Hilton as Kitty

The Simple Life’s Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s names were dropped as possibilities for Kitty’s true identity. And although I can admit Hilton’s song “Stars Are Blind” is a bop, her vocals just don’t match Kitty’s powerful pipes.

9. Will Arnett as Rhino — guessed by Will Arnett

Rhino really brought out the panelists’ imaginations. Jeong has suggested Tim Tebow, Chris Pratt, and even David Hasselhoff as the horned contestant. The confusing moment was saved by Arnett's burn after his colleague’s terrible guess. "I just figured out why you’re not a practicing doctor anymore," he joked. But Arnett’s one to talk, as he one-upped Jeong with an even crazier celebrity name — his own. He went down a conspiracy theorist-level journey that took him all the way from 1917’s Sam Mendes (because of Rhino’s old-timey outfit) to The Lego Movie, which he starred in. I’m sure Arnett was going for laughs, but um, can somebody check on his brain? He wouldn’t be the first to be broken by The Masked Singer.

10. Beto O'Rourke as Elephant

We all laughed when Jeong guessed that former Texas representative and presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke was behind the tusk. The panelist picked up on a White House clue, and then went the reverse psychology route, arguing that Democrat O’Rourke chose the Elephant, the GOP’s mascot, to throw everyone off. While Jeong did turn out to be wrong, as Elephant was really skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, the joke might’ve been on those of us who scoffed at the idea of a politician having Masked Singer aspirations. Weeks later, Bear was unmasked to be Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and VP hopeful.

11. Kevin Hart as Frog

Jeong and Scherzinger both brought up Kevin Hart as a contender for the rapping contestant, and while the height fits, they should know that the comedian is simultaneously working on about a gajillion projects and much too busy to commit to the reality show. Also, Hart can’t sing, as demonstrated by his music video that coincidentally mentions Thicke.

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