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Home / Entertainment

Rita Ora shocked by husband Taika Waititi’s surprise appearance on Masked Singer

Tyson Beckett
By Tyson Beckett
Multimedia Journalist - Premium Lifestyle·NZ Herald·
2 May, 2025 04:00 AM3 mins to read

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Taika Waititi surprised his wife Rita Ora by appearing on The Masked Singer US. Image / FOX
Taika Waititi surprised his wife Rita Ora by appearing on The Masked Singer US. Image / FOX

Taika Waititi surprised his wife Rita Ora by appearing on The Masked Singer US. Image / FOX

  • Rita Ora was shocked when her husband Taika Waititi was revealed on TV show The Masked Singer.
  • Waititi appeared as Detective Lucky Duck, performing a dance before being unmasked.
  • Ora joked about his appearance, saying it was “cool” and “kind of your dream come true”.

Pop star and The Masked Singer judge Rita Ora was left shocked when her husband Taika Waititi was revealed as a guest on the US version of the show.

In the April 30 semifinal episode of the singing competition, show host Nick Cannon introduced a surprise new character - Detective Lucky Duck, who announced that instead of one of the semifinalists he would be unmasked after a surprise dance performance.

As is tradition on the show the character provided judges and the audience some clues about their identity. “I’ve been bringing luck since the beginning, and during my time here, I’ve left no stone unturned. But one mystery still remains: Who am I?” Lucky Duck teased.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Masked Singer (@maskedsingerfox)

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“As good as I am, this detective-ing thing is only a hobby. I spend most of my time on massive movie sets. Yes, even bigger than The Hangover. There’s not an Oscar I don’t know."

The character then performed a choreographed dance to Queen‘s I Want to Break Free, prompting Ora to exclaim, “I need to know who this is, it’s completely killing me!”

As Lucky Duck removed his mascot headpiece, Cannon introduced the man behind mask as “Oscar award-winning filmmaker, actor, comedian, and husband of Rita Ora... Taika Waititi”.

Seeing her husband revealed, Ora broke into a wide smile and laughed “Are you kidding me? I hate you!”

Running to greet her husband on stage the pop star judge joked that in her opinion “I thought you were the most annoying thing on this whole show!”

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Ora then embraced Waititi in a hug and relented “That is so cool, I love you so much”.

Taika Waititi joked appearing on The Masked Singer was the only way the filmaker coul dsee his wife and show judge Rita Ora. Photo / Jamie McCarthy for Getty Images.
Taika Waititi joked appearing on The Masked Singer was the only way the filmaker coul dsee his wife and show judge Rita Ora. Photo / Jamie McCarthy for Getty Images.

The judge told her husband that the appearance was “kind of your dream come true”.

“You’ve always wanted to be a popstar.”

Speaking to Cannon, Waititi joked the main reason he wanted to do the show was “Because it was the only way I was going to see my wife,

“You guys got her working so hard, I never see her!”

Discover more

  • How Rita Ora feels about being 'stepmother' to Taika's ...
  • A-listers and an All Blacks cake: Inside Taika Waititi’s ...
  • Taika and Rita all loved up as they hit Oscars afterparty...
  • How Rita Ora knew Taika Waititi was the one

Waititi added that keeping his involvement in the show from Ora was “easy”.

“How I kept this secret? She’s always here.”

Ora suggested that Waititi’s fatherhood was another potential motivation behind the New Zealander’s involvement.

“Also, his kids love the show so much, so this is awesome.”

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