The Real Reason Jenifer Lewis Had to Be Removed from 'The Masked Singer'
Jenifer Lewis is unmasked on 'The Masked Singer' alongside Nick Cannon
Two years ago, Jenifer Lewis nearly died in a ravine in Tanzania. And, after playing iconic roles in The Preacher's Wife, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Black-ish and The Princess and the Frog, there was a chance she may not perform again, cloistering herself in recovery. That is, until The Masked Singer called. And so she made her return to the stage under the mask of "Miss Cleocatra," physically impaired, but still lending high energy and her iconic voice to the show.
The day after her reveal, Jenifer spoke to Parade.com about her time on The Masked Singer.
Related: Everything to Know About The Masked Singer Season 11
How did you get involved with The Masked Singer? Was this something you ever envisioned doing?
Of course not, darling! I've never imagined myself singing in a mask! Who puts Jenifer Lewis in a mask? I gotta tell you, I hadn't been in a mask in a while. When I was Harlette with Bette Midler, I wore a lot of masks as a harlot. I was one of her backup singers. But I don't know if you heard about my accident in Africa. Well, what happened was, when The Masked Singer called, I was still convalescing. It had only been five months.
I couldn't walk when I did The Masked Singer. They put me in a harness and bolted me to the floor. And if you watch "Stormy Weather," the first performance, you'll see I'm using my torso to express myself under the mask. It was amazing. It was crazy. I looked at myself. I looked like a wild animal, which I was, trying to get out of a cage. I wanted to break loose from harness to perform bigger, because you know I perform big!
So what about when you did "Free Your Mind"? You were really showing off some moves there.
I had to hold on to the mic stand though. You will see I never let it go. Also, Masked Singer knew that I had fallen. They knew I couldn't walk yet. But they told me they'd take care of me. And they did. And all of my friends said, "Get up, Jenny! Get up and go do what you love to do, because it'll lift you up." I couldn't walk. I was on a walker over there. Nobody saw. But you know me, baby. I'm gonna perform!
Well I imagine it certainly helps when you have such a regal costume to be in! What was your reaction to getting to become Miss Cleocatra?
My suggestion to Masked Singer was that I be Cleopatra. Because I knew Cleopatra could be brought out on a barge. And you see the good leg that I could still get up. And you see the two guys that escorted me. And you see that they put me on a throne. They said they'd take care of me, and they took such good care of me. But I was still on a little morphine. And I was still in a lot of pain. And if you look closely, you'll see me sitting on the throne nodding off a little bit. [Mimes falling asleep.] Miss Cleocatra had fallen asleep under the mask.
[Laughs.] How did it feel to get compared to people like Roberta Flack and Loretta Devine in the judges' guesses?
They're all friends of mine. Loretta since we were babies, since we were 19. I've known Sheryl Lee Ralph since we were 19 years old. I know Roberta. I know all these women. And as they were guessing. I was thinking, "Now you know I ain't Loretta. Now I know you ain't Roberta." [Laughs.] So I was kind of having a good time with them guessing.
So then what was your reaction when Ken actually knew who you were?
He knew it was me right away. You know my voice! Come on. Everybody knew it was me. I saw the internet—of course I never responded—say, "It's Jenifer Lewis. It's Auntie. We all know. Cleocatra's Jenifer Lewis!" And it was hard for me to not say, "It's me."
Was it hard to get taken out in the Smackdown? Because we got to hear that really fun jazzy rendition of "Waterfalls."
Yeah, but here's the thing. And this is between me and you. They had to get me out of there. I was in a lot of pain. I would love to have done the run. But on stage on a walker, a bit of a liability. They were like, "We love Jenifer Lewis, but..." [Laughs.]
[Laughs.] Well you talked about people clocking that it was you under the mask. What's it been like to have a new slew of viewers get introduced to you?
This is a whole new demographic for me on Masked Singer. Because the kids, they all call me "Auntie" being on Fresh Prince, the mother in all the movies, and then the grandmother on Black-ish. So I can't erase these kids, but they're seeing me in a new light now. "Oh, Auntie sings! She's an entertainer." Because theater—because that's what that is to me, you're live in front of an audience—that's everything to me. That's where I breathe. Film and television is nice, but they can edit that. This gives me the moment with the crowd. There's nothing like it.
Well speaking of those immortal roles, I know you recently got to see the animatronic of Mama Odie (your Princess and the Frog character) at Disney. What was that like?
You can't imagine. Let me tell you. They invited me over to the warehouse in Burbank to see Mama Odie's animatronic. When I heard my voice come out of this thing that looked so human, I felt like I had breathed the breath of life and gave birth. And when I was driving home, I said to myself, "That's why you didn't die on the ground of the Serengeti. Moments like this, blissful moments. We're still old. You have earned more bliss, Jenny." Because baby, seeing that little thing knowing that that's what the kids are gonna hear before they go splashing down into the water at Disney World. How can it get better than that?
