Watch: The Sex Pistols' John Lydon unveiled as Jester on The Masked Singer
He has appeared on the US edition of the show
Last updated 11th Nov 2021
Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd singer John Lydon has been unveiled as Jester on the US edition of The Masked Singer.
The 65-year-old punk musician first appeared as Jester as a wildcard on week 5 of the sixth season of the popular television show.
Lydon – aka Johnny Rotten - sang Alice Cooper’s ‘School’s Out’ in his opening performance and survived the judges' vote.
However, last night (10th November), John Lydon was booted out of The Masked Singer after singing traditional American folk song ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’, which was popularised by the fictional band Soggy Bottom Boys in Joel and Ethan Coen’s 2000 movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Managing to conceal his identity, over the course of the two shows the judges incorrectly guessed that Jester was Alice Cooper, The Who’s Roger Daltrey, Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar, Ozzy Osbourne, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and Elon Musk.
John Lydon then revealed his identity to the surprise of the judges and audience.
Speaking to Billboard about his appearance on the show, Lydon said he was inspired to take part for his wife Nora, who has Alzheimer’s.
He said: “Someone contacted my manager and we discussed it and I thought it would be really good because it meant my lovely wife, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, might get a great sense of fun out of it if she managed to guess who it was.
“We've lived together for 47 years, Nora and I, so she must have some clues as to who I am and what I can get up to.”
Asked why he performed Alice Cooper’s ‘School’s Out’, Lydon said: "It's one of the first things when I first joined the band later to be known as the Sex Pistols that I mimed to. Alice Cooper's ‘School's Out’ and ‘I'm Eighteen’, so Alice Cooper is integral to my entire history.”
In August, John Lydon lost his High Court battle to stop the Sex Pistols' music from being used in Danny Boyle's upcoming biopic Pistol.