The latest unmasked contestant reveals his hilarious first reaction to his costume.
Warning: This article contains spoilers about Wednesday’s episode ofThe Masked Dancer.
to make it so far in the competition.
Oscar De La Hoya.Jerod Harris/FilmMagic
OSCAR DE LA HOYA:My gut reaction was, “No, I cannot do this.
Oh my god.”
The only reason why I was thinking about it was because I can’t dance!
Then I started thinking, okay, wait, I’m gonna be behind behind this mask.
Nobody’s gonna know who I am.
I can be myself and just be silly, and just have a good time.
I’m probably gonna get knocked out in the first round.
I think it’d be a lot of fun.
So, I ended up doing it.
And you made it really far!
You made it to the semifinals.
I’m blown away.
I swear I was gonna be knocked out in the first round.
I had no clue whatsoever.
As a competitor, did you treat this as a competition or was it more in good fun?
Yeah, of course.
Being the competitor, being the athlete, you put in the work, right?
So I took it so serious.
I mean, I went far and beyond, and I even started taking yoga.
I started going to sleep super early.
It was kind of like training for a fight.
I would turn into the Zebra.
I was just having so much fun.
I had some great partners, and they made me feel so comfortable.
It was a blast.
I’m a silly individual and I love having fun.
I’m very energetic.
I love smiling and laughing and making people laugh.
And that was me.
That was the Zebra, and that was Oscar.
What was your first reaction when you saw the Zebra costume?
I’m supposed to be tough in the ring.
Maybe I can be a lion, maybe I can be the king of the jungle.
So when they brought out the Zebra, I kind of scratched my head.
And I was like, oh my gosh, yes.
I actually have earned my stripes!
I’ve worked hard all my life inside the ring and outside the ring, so it makes sense.
The eyelashes were incredible.
I was blown away.
So I said, “Yep, that’s me.
That’s the Zebra.”
In this episode, you talk about your mom and what she meant to you.
How did she inspire your time on the show?
She never saw me perform in the Olympics, and win the gold medal.
She never saw me win the world titles.
She’s always a huge inspiration to me.
What was the hardest part of being on the show?
Besides the dancing, I would say putting on the mask.
Because when you put on that mask, you’re free to only see maybe 65% visibility.
Everything turns dark, you know?
And then it kind of plays with your mind.
It’s actually frightening.
But once you see your partner, then it’s like game on.
How often did they let you rehearse with the mask on?
It’s one time.
You get one time, maybe, like a minute.
And that’s it.
So you just can’t get used to it.
That’s how difficult it is being on stage with a mask.
It’s the same feeling.
Was this more difficult than that?
You know, it actually was, because I was out of my element.
But where I was able to balance it out, was that I just had fun.
I said to myself, look, you’re a professional.
Do your job, do your work, train hard.
Go do the dances.
you might stay there for eight hours practicing every day.
Prepare yourself mentally for that, but when you’re onstage and performing, just have fun.
Just go out there and just be yourself, be silly.
I had the time of my life.
Have you heard from friends or family who thought you might be the Zebra?
Oh, yes, I’ve heard from many actually.
I want everybody to watch it tonight and be surprised that was me.
The only one I told was my little daughter, Victoria.
She’s like six years old.
But she didn’t get it.
She was like, “What?
You’re a Zebra?
What’s that about?”
So I can’t wait to watch it tonight with them and with my kids.
When they take off my mask, they’re gonna see Papa.
Do you have any idea who is going to win theMaskedtrophy?
No, I have no clue.
I was trying to guess [their identities].
I have no idea.
I couldn’t even guess.
I have no clue.
