Before his comedy and entertainment career, The Masked Singer judge Ken Jeong was a doctor. And it's not lost on him that he's now trying to guess (usually poorly) which celebrity is dressed in an elaborate costume singing a cover of a popular song on national TV.
"No one knew it would be this big or this popular and then, no one also knew that I would be the dumbest judge on that show. I didn't know that was my legacy. You know you're stupid when you think the poodle is Dog the Bounty Hunter. And I wish that was a joke…That's the arc of my life. I got paid, as a doctor, to be smart. And now I'm paid way more to be stupid, you know? That's just insane," Jeong told host Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show.
While on The Tonight Show, Jeong also took time to reiterate the fact that neither he nor fellow judges Jenny McCarthy, Robin Thicke, Nicole Scherzinger and host Nick Cannon know who the celebrities are until they're unmasked on stage.
"Contrary to popular belief…we don't know who the contestants are. Nick Cannon, the host, doesn't know. It's like two separate productions in one and if we do ever have to cross paths, the contestants have to wear, like, black hoodie, black visors and a black T-shirt that says, ‘Don't look at me,'" he said. In fact, even the celebrity contestant's team, like their manager, publicist, assistant, agent, etc., are hidden.
"Their whole squad, they have to wear masks just in case…let's say we would have the same agent or something like that. We don't know who anybody is," he said.
The Masked Singer returns with guest judge Jamie Foxx on Sunday, Feb. 2 on Fox. The Tonight Show airs weeknights, 11:30 p.m. on NBC.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)