Elephant became the eleventh disguised celebrity to be eliminated from the fun-filled mystery music show The Masked Singer South Africa. The man behind the tusks turned out to be larger-than-life stand-up comedian Jason Goliath. From the very first time, Elephant stepped onto The Masked Singer South Africa stage, this jolly Jumbo jiggled his way into the hearts of the show’s panel of detectives and fans. J’Something, Sithelo Shozi and Somizi Mhlongo showered Ellie with compliments whilst trying to figure out the true identity of the adorable character with the big voice and floppy ears. However, one king-sized comedian can’t fool another. It took “Sergeant” Skhumba Hlope one song to pin down Elephant as his funny friend Jason. Initially, his fellow investigators questioned Skhumba’s call, but when Elephant trumpeted before his second performance that he is into video games, J’Something changed his mind for a split second. J’Something had seen with his own
eyes how Jason wielded a remote control. Then, in another episode, Somizi spotted Elephant wearing a one-of-a-kind wedding ring which once glistened in the studio during a particular radio interview. Still, as the bloodhounds continued to follow Elephant’s tracks throughout the competition, the endearing forest-dweller made them go round in circles. Only Skhumba stuck to his guns, being “dead-sure” time after time that it was Jason. This week, the six remaining masked performers faced off in pairs. It was Lion versus Rhino, Tree versus Lollipop, and Fox versus Elephant. Following Elephant’s clue package leading into his performance of AKA’s “The World is Yours”, Skhumba was more convinced than ever before that the show’s massive star could only be Jason Goliath. Elephant mentioned he had “one sister and many brothers from another mother”. For
Skhumba, it was not a mammoth task to decipher this clue. Elephant referred to the funny “Goliath and Goliath” herd – Jason’s sister, Kate, his cousin, Nicholas and the comedian who shares their surname, David Goliath. However, the island destination featured in the clue package and Elephant’s reference to a trip with his sweetheart directed Sithelo to Love Island, naming Lebo Geza. J’Something put forward one of his previous guesses, Trevor Gumbi, and Somizi thought the Elephant with the cool vibe was radio host and personality Buji Bikwa who rose to fame with the reality competition Dance your Butt Off. After being outfoxed by his glamorous competitor – slick Fox, of course – Elephant found himself in the dreaded danger zone alongside Lion and Lollipop. This time, the detectives were allowed to save one mask. So, they sent Lion back to his lair, leaving Lollipop
and Elephant behind for the final vote. With Elephant receiving the fewest votes, the detectives had one more shot at guessing who the gentle giant was. Sithelo reverted to Jub-Jub, a name she locked down in previous episodes, while J’Something and Somizi aligned with Skhumba on Jason Goliath. Somizi remembered who wore that wedding ring on Elephant’s finger. As he dropped his massive trunk, Jason hooted, to the audience’s delight, that he had lost 20kgs since The Masked Singer South Africa started. The comedian then raved about the show: “This is the most difficult, physically challenging, magnificent fun, humbling, wonderful, beautiful experience I have ever done.” The only thing that annoyed Jason a.k.a. Elephant, was Skhumba trying to out him every week. “Friendship, for what?!” he scolded the heavyweight detective who once laughed about his big belly and called him “not that handsome”.The Masked Singer South Africa is screened on SABC 3 on Saturdays at 18:30 and SABC 1 at 20:00. There is also a repeat on Thursdays at 21:00. To be part of the fun, join the conversation on X (formerly Twitter) on #MaskedSingerSA.