Who Is The Masked Singer Season 14's Scarab? - All Premiere Night Clues Explained (SPOILERS)

WARNING! THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS ABOUT THE MASKED SINGER SEASON 14!The Masked Singer season 14 contestant Scarab stole the show with her incredible premiere night performance, and her clue package had many hints about who she might be: Taraji P. Henson. The Masked Singer season 14 welcomed back host Nick Cannon, along with panelists Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, and Rita Ora. Throughout the season, 18 contestants will compete to win the Golden Mask Trophy.

The Masked Singer season 14 began with ten contestants competing against each other in five head-to-head rounds, including Galaxy Girl vs. Handyman, Pugcasso vs. Queen Corgi, Scarab vs. the Croissants, Snow Cone vs. Stingray, and Googly Eyes vs. Cat Witch. Cat Witch has been revealed to be America's Insider, Kylie Cantrall, who's the first-ever contestant to be unmasked while the season airs. She'll be giving behind-the-scenes information all season.

Premiere night featured a double elimination, during which Googly Eyes and the Croissants were sent home. Googly Eyes was revealed to be baseball hall of famer David Ortiz, while the Croissants will be unmasked at the beginning of episode 2.

Although Scarab advanced to the next round after her phenomenal performance of "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele, and she wasn't unmasked, her identity has become obvious thanks to her clues. The panelists guessed that she was Whoopi Goldberg (Ken), Viola Davis (Jenny), and Sheryl Lee Ralph (Robin), but they're most likely wrong. Here are all of Scarab's clues, and how they relate to Taraji P. Henson.

The Most Decorated Masked Singer Contestant Ever

In her clue package, Scarab was described as the most decorated contestant that The Masked Singer has ever seen. Taraji has won and been nominated for several major awards. She won the Golden Globe Award in 2016 for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama for her role as Cookie Lyon in Empire, as well as the Critics' Choice Award for the part in 2015. She was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award six times in total.

In 2017, Taraji won the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture with the cast of Hidden Figures, in which she played Katherine Johnson. She was nominated for the SAG Award five times in total.

Taraji also has one Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, six Emmy Award nominations, and one Tony Award nomination. In addition, in 2016 and 2004, Time chose Taraji as one of their 100 Most Influential People in the World. She also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019.

Presidents

In her Masked Singer season 14 clue package, Scarab revealed that she met presidents. In 2022, President Joe Biden appointed Taraji to his board of advisers on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). She graduated from HBCU Howard University in 1995, where she studied musical theater.

Brad Pitt

Scarab also shared that she's dined with actor Brad Pitt. Taraji starred with Brad in the 2008 film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. She was nominated for an Oscar for her work as Queenie, the adoptive mother of Brad's character, Benjamin, who ages in reverse.

Prince

Scarab stated that even the late music legend Prince knew her name. Taraji is a huge fan of Prince, and has spoken about how much she loved the singer as a teenager. She even had the chance to meet him. In Empire season 4, the show paid tribute to Prince after he passed away.

Golden Globe

Scarab told the Masked Singer audience to look at her trophy shelf, stating that there was a lot of gold on it, as a golden globe was shown. Taraji won the Golden Globe Award in 2016 for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama for her role as Cookie Lyon in Empire.

Golden Lion

In Scarab's clue package, a statue of a golden lion was revealed. In Empire, Taraji's character Cookie's last name is Lyon.

Long Career

Scarab stated that she's proud of what she's achieved, but she's been working for a long time now, and, while most people would be thinking about retirement, she was looking for something new to inspire her. She explained that the Scarab was a symbol of rebirth, and being on The Masked Singer was the beginning of hers. Scarab proclaimed that it was time to win a new kind of gold, meaning the Golden Mask Trophy. Taraji first roles were nearly 30 years ago in 1997, when she appeared in episodes of The Parent 'Hood and Sister, Sister.

Name Has Been Guessed Before On The Masked Singer

When Nick asked Scarab what made her join The Masked Singer, she responded that it was like Beetlejuice. They kept saying her name, so she thought she'd show up. The panel has guessed Taraji for other contestants' identities on the show before, most notably for season 3 winner Kandi Burruss' Night Angel, when former panelist Nicole Scherzinger incorrectly said her name for her final guess, and during season 12, when Jenny offered Taraji for her final guess for Showbird, who was actually Yvette Nicole Brown.

Cookie

While it wasn't shared on the show, Us Weekly revealed a clue about Scarab that also points to her being Taraji, which was a photograph of her standing outside of the FOX Studios holding a cookie. This is another reference to Empire because the show aired on FOX and Taraji's character's name was Cookie.

Although it's still just speculation that Scarab is Taraji, the clues are definitely leading to her. In addition to the clues, Scarab's performance of "Set Fire to the Rain" sounded like Taraji's singing voice. Not only did she sing on Empire, but she showcased her stellar vocals as Miss Hannigan in Annie Live! on television, and as Shug Avery in the film, The Color Purple. As the weeks progress, there will be even more clues, which will most likely confirm that Scarab is Taraji, the most decorated contestant in the history of The Masked Singer.

Source: Us Weekly