Jonathan Ross has defended himself after receiving backlash for suggesting that one of the anonymous singers on The Masked Singer was actually Natalie Cole. After the episode aired, viewers were quick to point out that Natalie had passed away back in 2015 after suffering from congestive heart failure - and criticised Jonathan for the comment. One person wrote: "How can you guess Natalie Cole on the masked singer when she’s not even alive?!! So disrespectful." Another added: "It will be interesting to see if Daisy will be unmasked as Natalie Cole on The Masked Singer. Bad fact checking by @ITV."
Jonathan guessed a singer was the late Natalie Cole
Jonathan spoke to The Sun about the mistake, explaining: "Obviously it was a genuine mistake. What's interesting is we recorded this in September and nobody thought to check. But possibly it was my fault because they all think I know my stuff. They all assume, 'If he says it, he must be right'. The rest of the panel and the audience didn't know either." He jokily added: "I'm old. I can't... remember what I did this morning. But don't worry, I didn't say 'Tupac'."
READ: Holly Willoughby responds to claims she's one of the Masked Singers
Jonathan defended himself following the mistake
The Masked Singer, a reality show where singers compete while hiding their true identity in elaborate costumes, has been an unexpected ratings hits, with fans enjoying the concept of the show while becoming amateur detectives to try and work out who is who. Sunday night's episode saw Skin from Skunk Anansie and Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears unmasked, who were performing as Duck and Unicorn respectively. Speaking about taking part in the unusual competition after being voted out of the show, Skin said: "I just wanted to do something completely different and it's been really challenging and really hard, and just major fun as well."
READ: Davina McCall's sparkly fitted dress is the talk of The Masked Singer
