‘The Masked Singer’: Cleocatra Says Her Message To Audiences Is To “Get Up” After Hard Times

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Wednesday’s episode of The Masked Singer, including the identity of the eliminated contestant.

The Group B contestants brought the energy for Girl Group Night on The Masked Singer.

After a fiery rendition of En Vogue’s “Free Your Mind,” and going head-to-head against Seal with a jazzy arrangement of TLC’s “Waterfalls,” Cleocatra was booted from the competition on Wednesday.

The regal feline was revealed to be none other than Jenifer Lewis, who told Deadline that, despite her earlier exit from the show, her participation was a victory in itself.

“The b*itch is back,” she said, smiling.

After a harrowing fall off of a balcony while vacationing in Africa, Lewis was about five months into recovering when she received the call to compete on The Masked Singer. Rather than remain on bed rest, the multi-hyphenate decided to do what she does best: perform.

“My friends were like, ‘Get up and have some fun'” she said. “When [Fox] said they would really take care of me, I said, ‘I’ll be there,’ because it lifted my spirits.”

To work around Lewis’ ongoing recovery, The Masked Singer team got creative with her costume and her stage presence. During her first performance, Lewis said they had “bolted me down to the floor in a harness” to keep her still from the waist down, as she wasn’t able to walk or bear much weight on her legs just yet.

By the time Girl Group Night rolled around, Lewis was able to stand using the microphone for support.

Unsurprisingly, Lewis wasn’t able to keep her identity a secret from the judges because, as she said herself, “everybody knows Jenifer Lewis’ voice” — or, at least Ken Jeong did.

“Ken was acting a fool,” she laughed. “He knew who I was the moment I opened my mouth.”

After a year and a half of rehabilitation, Lewis calls her Masked Singer performances “a triumphant testimony.”

“I want you to mention that. I fell, and I got up. That’s what Jenifer wants us all to do,” she said. “If we fall out of a relationship, if we fall out with our parents, if we fall out with our friends, get up. You can do it.”