The Masked Singer team ‘took almost an hour to persuade Macy Gray to return to the stage’ after she stormed off during a chaotic elimination

The Masked Singer team reportedly “took a while to persuade Macy Gray to return to the stage” – after the star became the third person to be kicked off the show.

The hit ITV show descended into chaos during Friday’s episode after the American soul singer, 57, lost to Bear in the sing-off after the judges opted to save the latter .

And the I Try hitmaker clearly didn’t take the news well when she strutted off stage, leaving host Joel Dommett and judges Davina McCall Mo Gilligan, Jonathan Ross and Maya Jama speechless in shock.

While viewers may have thought Macy returned to the stage moments after she stormed off, it is said that it actually took producers nearly an hour to convince her to return – with the scenes cut from the series .

The stars of the show, including guest judge Suranne Jones, tried to keep things cheerful by congratulating Bear. Macy quickly returned to the stage.

Reports have now revealed that the “totally wild” storyline has “never happened on The Masked Singer” before.

A source said The Sun The team was left “frozen in shock” and as soon as Macy came backstage, they tried to talk her out of it.

“Macy was almost shocked at first and was basically gutted to come out so soon because she really loved being on the American version – when she obviously did brilliantly – and so was totally blindsided.

“It took forever for everyone backstage to talk about her and poor Joel was on stage doing a stand-up routine trying to keep things under control.

“Eventually, they were able to persuade Macy to go back on stage, properly unmask and sing for the last time,” the TV source concluded.

The insider added that the show was “a bit of fun” and that the vote was “no indication of his talent”, but that “no one could believe” that the superstar had “lost” this way.

MailOnline has contacted ITV for comment.

Once she took off her mask, Macy had a face like thunder and couldn’t hide her anger during the interview, answering Joel’s questions with blunt, one-word answers.

Watching the dramatic moment, viewers flocked to X to comment and they were all saying the same thing: how “awkward” the whole thing was.

Macy’s on-screen meltdown comes as it was reported she was “totally blindsided” by the result, having already reached the final of the US version in 2023.

Macy faced Pufferfish, Bear, Wolf and Bush in the series finale.

Prue Leith was the first person to be axed from the show after being revealed as Pegasus, while Kate Garraway was the second to be axed after being unmasked as Spag Bol.

Prue Leith was the first person to be axed from the show after being revealed as Pegasus, while Kate Garraway was the second to be axed after being unmasked as Spag Bol.

It comes after host Joel, 39, revealed the Masked Singer’s return “has gotten weirder”, as he said new show judge Maya Jama, 30, is “going through a truly ridiculous life.”

Speaking to Principle Magazine, Joel said: “It’s getting weirder and weirder. I think it’s getting weirder and weirder.

“And if you thought it was weird before, it’s getting even weirder. And we’re also becoming more confident as a production.

“We’re adding more twists and interesting elements that you wouldn’t necessarily expect with the format.

“It’s just fun and we really enjoy it, but the production definitely allows me to do pretty much whatever I want.”

The Masked Singer continues on ITV1 and ITVX on Saturday January 18 at 7pm.