To the surprise of very few, former NFL star Rob Gronkowski turned out to be the man behind the White Tiger mask on FOX’s The Masked Singer this week. On Wednesday night’s episode of the anonymous singing competition show, the contestant who rocked a white tiger costume for ten straight weeks was ultimately voted off, which meant that the mystery celebrity beneath the suit could finally be unveiled. Before host Nick Cannon removed the mask, the judging panel could be heard chanting, “Please be Gronk!” over and over, and they certainly weren’t disappointed.
The pro athlete was seemingly an easy guess for judges Robin Thicke, Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong, and Jenny McCarthy, almost all of whom had correctly guessed Gronk as the White Tiger before. Tons of viewers also called it on Twitter way back in Week 1, so this reveal is sure to be satisfying for those watching at home. A major giveaway that Gronk, who serves as a sports analyst for the same network on which The Masked Singer airs, was the White Tiger were his easily recognizable dance moves. He even admits that improving his dancing ability was a major factor in why he chose to do the show.
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“I’ve always loved dancing, and my dance moves were always one-of-a-kind,” he explains, which the judges strongly agreed with. “I always felt like I was never on rhythm, so when I got asked to do The Masked Singer, I knew I was in, I wanted to do it. I wanted to learn how to sing and also, I really wanted to learn how to dance.” Robin gives Gronk some kind words, including calling him “a fan favourite and beloved,” and later, “the best tightend of all time.” When Jenny asks him if any of his former New England Patriots teammates contacted him to ask if he was the White Tiger, he said “one or two” definitely knew it was him just from his dance moves, which they’ve “seen in the locker room plenty of times.” Jenny then tells him that they hope to see those moves back in the locker room soon, to which he says, “you never know.” Gronk then explains the clues that the judges missed, including a “pat” of butter for the Pats, and a cow skiing, for “Gron-cow-ski.” Too good.
