With her first performance on The Masked Dancer, Tulip made it clear she was a professionally trained dancer. We've put the clues together to figure out just which celebrity dancer is behind the Tulip mask.
Tulip started out with a tap routine done to "Fergalicious" by Fergie. She was small in stature but big on skill. Judge Paula Abdul, who is a tap dancer herself, was out of her seat applauding. Abdul quickly remarked that Tulip was a trained dancer. This eliminated our early prediction of Olympian Laurie Hernandez and led the judges to names like Glee's Heather Morris and pop star Ariana Grande. However, the clues shown, combined with the skill displayed, made it very clear who was masquerading as the floral beauty.
We are certain that Tulip is none other than Dance Moms star Mackenzie Ziegler. While many quickly suggested it could be her sister Maddie Ziegler, the clues point much more directly at the younger of the sisters. The first visuals included an alarm that said tick-tock. Mackenzie Ziegler has more than 19 million TikTok followers, making her a certified TikTok sensation. There was a bowl of mac and cheese shown, which is a nod to her nickname, Mack.
A clue that showed a ticket from AL to DC had many thinking it referred to travel between two cities, but ALDC is a perfect fit for Abby Lee Dance Company, which was the subject of the show, Dance Moms. There was a cereal box labeled mini seeds with 11 vitamins and minerals. Ziegler and her sister started on Dance Moms in 2011 with a group of young dancers. She said her confidence tumbled after being teased growing up, which could refer to the treatment many of the girls faced on the reality show.
She was shown clicking red shoes together three times, as in The Wizard of Oz. There was also a rainbow shown. Both of those clues point to when she starred as Dorothy in a holiday stage pantomime adaptation called The Wonderful Winter of Oz. Her size and build fit Tulip. The voice sounded similar when giving the word up clue of "triple," which points to the fact that she is a triple threat as an actor, dancer, and singer. And this wouldn't even be her first reality dance competition. She previously appeared on the Dancing With The Stars spinoff show Dancing With The Stars: Juniors. It is pretty undeniable that Tulip from The Masked Dancer is Mackenzie Ziegler.
The Masked Dancer airs Wednesdays at 8pm EST on Fox.