The Masked Singer Season 11’s Goldfish Avoided Rita Ora In Public

Summary The Masked Singer season 11 winner Vanessa Hudgens, who was Goldfish, avoided her friend Rita Ora while filming the show to keep her identity a secret from the panelist.

Rita correctly guessed Vanessa's identity as Goldfish early on.

Vanessa says that she could never be a Masked Singer panelist because she didn't guess anyone correctly during season 11.

The Masked Singer season 11 winner Vanessa Hudgens, who was Goldfish, admitted that she was avoiding panelist Rita Ora, who happens to be her good friend, during filming, because she wouldn't have been able to lie to her face. Rita took Nicole Scherzinger's place on The Masked Singer season 11 panel when Nicole was starring in London's West End production of Sunset Boulevard. Rita joined original panelists Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, and Ken Jeong. Rita correctly guessed Vanessa's identity early on in the competition, and Jenny agreed with her for her final guess, while Robin thought she was Hilary Duff, and Ken predicted that she was Nicole.

"I cannot sit at a dinner table and stare at her in the face."

In an interview with EW, Vanessa confessed that she had to avoid Rita when The Masked Singer first began airing because they're friends, and she would've given away her identity. Vanessa explained, "We're friends, and ... we were with each other about two weeks before the show started, and I found out after the fact that she was a judge, and I was like, oh God." She continued, "And then I had my first performance, and she guessed it was me, and then I was like, Well, there goes our dinner plans, because I cannot sit at a dinner table and stare at her in the face and not be like, 'Girl.'"

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Vanessa Hudgens Reveals Why She Could Never Do Rita Ora’s Job

Vanessa Thinks That She's A Terrible Guesser

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Scott Porter, who was runner-up Gumball, had revealed to EW that he immediately guessed Vanessa's identity because they'd worked together in the past, but she admitted that she didn't figure him out. She said, "No, I was the worst! I could never be a judge on this show, and if I did, I would need a lot of help because I was just lost. And I was really invested too!" Vanessa added that she tried to figure out her fellow contestants’ identities when she'd sit backstage after her own performances, but she’d get "so lost" and "had no idea" who they were.

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It was very sweet to see how excited and touched Rita was when she realized that Vanessa was Goldfish. On the show, she shared that when she was first getting into music and came to the United States, Vanessa was really nice to her. Rita cried as she explained Goldfish's clues about Vanessa's father passing away hours before she performed in the live television production of Grease. Vanessa bravely took the stage anyway. Rita clearly has a lot of love and admiration for her friend Vanessa. Clearly, Vanessa feels the same way about Rita because she knew that she'd never be able to keep the secret that she really was Goldfish from her.

It's funny to think that Vanessa had to avoid Rita because she had to conceal her true identity. Scott shared a similar story when he was unmasked. He said that he was coaching Nick Cannon's son's baseball team, and Nick had no idea that he was hiding under Gumball's mask. The Masked Singer is such a fun show because of the mystery of the contestants' identities. While Rita was able to recognize Vanessa right away, none of the panelists guessed Scott's identity. As Goldfish, Vanessa gave some of the best performances in Masked Singer history, and she deserved to win the Golden Mask Trophy.

The Masked Singer season 12 premieres in the fall of 2024 on FOX.

Source: EW