Nick Cannon Has COVID-19 — Who Will Fill In For Him On ‘The Masked Singer’?
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The upcoming Season 5 premiere of The Masked Singer will look a bit different this year. According to Variety, host Nick Cannon has COVID-19 forcing him to sit out of taping the first few episodes of the show. While Nick recovers, someone else will be stepping into his role as the show begins filming today.
Nick Cannon Misses ‘The Masked Singer’ Premiere Due To COVID-19 Diagnosis
Nick has hosted the show since the very first season. He is currently in quarantine after his COVID-19 diagnosis. In the meantime, producers had to find someone else to host the show. They have chosen actress Niecy Nash to step in to host the first few episodes of The Masked Singer. Nick is expected to return mid-season.
The 50-year-old is no stranger to appearing on the show as she was brought in as a guest panelist last season. She appeared on Fox’s other talent show I Can See Your Voice with Ken Jeong recently. Niecy also had a role on Fox’s Scream Queens along with Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She has prior hosting experience on the show Clean House which led to two Daytime Emmy nominations for her.
SEE ALSO: NICK CANNON’S TALK SHOW IS BACK ON FOLLOWING ANTI-SEMITISM CONTROVERSY
Niecy has big shoes to fill stepping into Nick’s role. Despite all of the controversy surrounding him, the Season 4 finale drew in 7.1 million viewers which was the largest audience of the season. Previously, Nick came under fire for anti-semitic comments he made which led to him getting fired from Viacom. It was up in the air about whether he would be getting fired from The Masked Singer too. However, he put out an apology that saved his job on the show.
Check out the What’s Hot Video below where we talk about how Nick was the only choice to host the show. He previously hosted the very successful MTV show Wild ‘N Out and eight seasons of America’s Got Talent.
The Show Has Been Following Safety Protocols
To pull of a show like this during a pandemic is not easy, but several precautions are in place on The Masked Singer set to ensure a safe work environment. This includes regular COVID testing, staggered call times and an audience created all through the power of editing.
“When the pandemic hit, there were two big points, at least for myself and my team: How to be creative in this pandemic — make it look like a bigger show than we’ve ever done before, but with the limitations of shooting in a pandemic? And then the second part is how to make a show with fewer people on the stage area, so everyone’s protected,” executive producer Craig Plestis told The Wrap.
SEE ALSO: NICK CANNON TALKS ABOUT MENTORING ‘AGT’S KEHLANI WHEN SHE WAS HOMELESS [VIDEO]
Season 5 of The Masked Singer will premiere in March on Fox. Judges Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke are all slated to return to the show.
