“The Masked Dancer” is only three episodes old but it is already one of our favorite shows of the year. We love watching stars wearing elaborate costumes doing difficult dance steps. On the second episode of season 1, which aired on January 6, five celebrities danced and four of them made the cut; Ice Cube was revealed to be Bill Nye, “The Science Guy.” We’ve been been busy since then scouring the clues and performance videos and have all of your “The Masked Dancer” spoilers, including the identity of the most energetic dancer of the bunch, Zebra, who performs again on January 13.
On episode 2, the Zebra dazzled us with his fancy footwork set to “Magalenha” by Sérgio Mendes. The four judges (Paula Abdul, Brian Austin Green, Ken Jeong, Ashley Tisdale) were way off with their guesses of Ricky Martin, Pitbull, or Kevin Richardson. Keep reading for all “The Masked Dancer” spoilers, including our theory as to the true identity of the Zebra.
We think that the Zebra is boxer Oscar De La Hoya. Don’t believe us? Before dismissing our theory, we ask that you take into account the following facts:
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The only clue we had before the Zebra danced for the first time came from the show’s Instagram account. The Zebra announced that his favorite holiday song is “Feliz Navidad,” which is “Merry Christmas” in Spanish. De La Hoya’s parents emigrated from Mexico and this California native is fluent in Spanish.
He loves to sing and even posted a performance of this holiday classic on line several years ago. Back in 2000 his self-titled disc even reaped a Grammy nomination; as a group, “The Masked Dancer” contestants have contended 20 times for music’s highest honor.
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Zebra revealed that he was raised in a rough part of town; De La Hoya hails from East L.A., which certainly fits that description.
Before he turned pro, De La Hoya won a gold medal in the lightweight division at the 1992 Summer Olympics; as a group, “The Masked Dancer” contestants have laid claim to four Olympic titles (we think Cotton Candy has bragging rights for the other three.)
In 2008 his autobiography “American Son: My Story” charted on the New York Times best-sellers list; as a whole, “The Masked Dancer” contenders can boast of having done this five times.
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We saw several numbers that fit De La Hoya’s bio like a glove: 11 is the number of world titles he has won; 128 was his weight when he started boxing as a super featherweight; and 154 is the minimum requirement to be a middleweight, his current classification.
There is talk that he could be returning to the ring 12 years after retiring; the Word Up clue given by Zebra was comeback.
Finally, we saw a campaign poster for Zebra; De La Hoya has flirted with idea of running for political office.
We will only know if we got our guess right that Zebra is Oscar De La Hoya when he is unmasked. That will only happen if he loses a match-up or wins the show. Do you think we are correct about the real name of Zebra? Sound off in the comments section with your best guesses.
Be sure to make your predictions to influence our reality TV racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs on Fox. You’ll compete to win eternal bragging rights and a spot on our “The Masked Dancer” Season 1 leaderboard. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
GROUP A
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