Terry Bradshaw Apologizes For Cringe-Worthy Comment About ‘Masked Singer’ Judge Ken Jeong
Terry Bradshaw put his foot in his mouth at Fox’s upfront presentation. The NFL Hall of Fame quarterback talked about his elimination from the Fox reality show, The Masked Singer, where he delivered a cringe-worthy description of the judges, Deadline reports.
Bradshaw was the third contestant eliminated on the freshman season of The Masked Singer, which features host Nick Cannon and judges Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong, and Nicole Scherzinger. Bradshaw, who wore a terrifying deer costume for the Fox singing comp, stunned upfront reporters when recounting his elimination from the hit reality show.
At the Fox upfronts alongside other NFL presenters tied to the Super Bowl, Terry Bradshaw made a racially insensitive comment about Ken Jeong while also referring to Robin Thicke by his late father Alan’s name.
In a cringe-worthy moment, Bradshaw said he was “kicked off” The Masked Singer by “Alan Thicke and the little short guy from Japan.”
TooFab notes that when Terry Bradshaw was corrected by fellow Fox NFL Sunday presenter Howie Long about Jeong’s heritage—the actor-comedian is American-born of South Korean descent— Bradshaw said he didn’t care where Jeong was from, just that he’d kicked him off the show.
In actuality, Terry Bradshaw was wrong on that front too, as his elimination came from votes from the in-studio audience and not the judges.
Amid immediate backlash, Terry Bradshaw issued an apology to Ken Jeong for his insensitive comment about his heritage.
“I made an insensitive remark today about Ken, who I’ve known for some time. I’ve spoken to him about the importance of cultural respect and apologized for my offensive comments. I would like to also apologize to the Asian-American community for my insensitivity.”
Jeong, who was also on site to promote The Masked Singer, did not acknowledge Bradshaw’s controversial comments when he took the stage later in the day.
The second season of The Masked Singer will premiere this fall, and the show has already been renewed for a third season, which will kick off in Fox’s coveted post-Super Bowl timeslot. The wacky reality show was a breakout hit for Fox after its launch in January, so its early, multi-season renewal is not a huge surprise. The 10-episode reality show finished as the 2018-19 season’s highest-rated new series.
The Masked Singer features costumed celebrities singing popular songs as the audience and judges try to piece together clues to figure out their identities. Rapper T-Pain was the first winner of The Masked Singer.
