‘The Masked Singer’: Mallard Duck Isn’t a Country Singer, But He’s a Reality Star With an Empire
Season 6 of The Masked Singer introduced another batch of contestants in the Sept. 29 episode, including Queen of Hearts, Cupcake, and Mallard. After waving goodbye to Toni Braxton’s Pufferfish and Vivica Fox’s Mother Nature, fans watched Dalmatian make it through only one round. An unmasked Tyga stumped the judges and many in the viewing audience, but it’s time to turn their attention to the other celebrity performers.
For those paying close attention, Mallard made it kind of easy to decode his clues, but some fans may be surprised. He’s a reality TV star with a quack-related business empire.
Mallard on ‘The Masked Singer’ has a duck dynasty
Donning a top hat, fancy suit, monocle, and long cane, Mallard dropped clues about his business acumen. His easily detected Southern accent came through clearly in his speaking and singing voice, so it’s a given that he’s from the South. But the real giveaway is in his mallard duck costume and telltale clues. Human jukebox? Author? Selling worms? That’s why it’s Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty.
Robertson and his family’s reality show aired from 2012-2017, chronicling their home life and family business, Duck Commander, Inc. Mallard touched on his experience as an author and his first job selling worms. Robertson wrote about the worm venture and singing on the school bus as a human jukebox in the book, The Duck Commander Family: How Faith, Family, and Ducks Built a Dynasty.
“I would eat June bugs for fifty cents and sing on the school bus for a quarter. One of my favorite moneymaking schemes involved my turning into a human jukebox. Kids would put quarters under my arms, and I would start singing,” he wrote.
Because his parents Phil and Kay wouldn’t give him and his brother bait money, Robert explained that he foraged for worms and set up a worm farm on small boat at the family’s dock. As a kid entrepreneur, he charged people a nickel for worm bait from his boat stand.
Willie Robertson is buds with Chris Pratt and has a platinum album
What about the other Mallard clues on The Masked Singer? Perhaps the Chris Pratt connection is throwing some people off, but there’s an explanation for that too. Pratt spent time in New Orleans while filming Jurassic World, and he did an interview with Nola.com where he discussed hanging out with Robertson in Louisiana.
“I had never been to New Orleans before. But I spent some time with my friend Willie up in Monroe — Willie Robertson (of ‘Duck Dynasty’) and all of his buddies are up there. We went up there and did some frog hunting and going around on the bayou,” said Pratt.
Though the judges and fans may be inclined to guess that there’s a country singer under the Mallard suit, it should be noted the Duck Dynasty family has a platinum-selling album too. Titled Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas, the musical project dropped in 2014 and earned a platinum certification.
The entire family contributed to the album, and guest artists included George Strait, Alison Krauss, and Luke Bryan. Other clues from Mallard include a small elk figurine and bills (dollar bills), which symbolize hunting and duck bills. Stay tuned for new episodes of The Masked Singer on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST.
