The radio host and medical professional opened up to ET about his 'weird' and 'fun' experience on the hit Fox competition.
After donning a massive eagle costume and belting out Meatloaf, Dr. Drew Pinsky was unmasked and became the latest celeb to get sent home on Wednesday's The Masked Singer. Now, the longtime talk show host is opening up about the bizarre, unique and incredibly secretive experience.
Pinsky sat down with ET's Lauren Zima on Thursday to talk about his big reveal for the episode -- which was taped months ago -- and how far the show went to keep its costumed cast of contestants as top secret as humanly possible.
"The moment you leave your front door you're in a hoodie and a mask," Pinsky recounted. "They won't let you show skin, you have white clothes on so they don't know what race you are or anything, and you're not allowed to speak."
"You do not speak when spoken to, you don't say a word until you enter your trailer," he added.
"Then somebody comes into the trailer, you leave the trailer and go to the stage, and you're not allowed to speak to anybody until you start singing."
For Pinsky, it got really weird when he wanted to just express simple platitudes and appreciation to members of the crew.
"There were people I wanted to thank, that I was grateful for, and I couldn't do that," he recalled. "I'd have to find a producer and they would go thank so and so, otherwise I couldn't even communicate to anybody. It's weird."
Pinsky wasn't able to tell anyone about his new role on the show, except for his wife, Susan, and even she had to sign a legally binding non-disclosure agreement.
He didn't even plan on telling his 26-year-old triplets -- daughter Paulina and sons Douglas and Jordan -- but he eventually had to spill the beans when they got suspicious and confused at the vocal coaches that kept showing up to his house to help him prepare.
"They started showing up three days a week, [and my son] said, 'What's going on here?' I went, 'Sign this non-disclosure agreement and then I'll tell you,'" Pinsky shared. "[The producers] are pretty clear that if it leaks anywhere, get the [NDA] out and make them sign."
For Pinsky, the only thing that came close to how strange it felt to have to keep a massive secret from people he knew and loved was to be performing on the show at all, especially in a crazy costume.
The eagle costume itself, with its red bandana and '60s fringe jacket, gave off an old classic rocker vibe, which really changed what he'd planned for his performances.
"I trained classically and I was sort of expecting [to] sing some Bublé or some Sinatra," Pinsky explained. "Then, I put that damn eagle costume on, and I was like, 'Oh no, it's a rock eagle, we have to go a totally different direction!' And that was even more uncomfortable for me."
While he ended up singing Meatloaf's 1993 hit "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" he also got a chance to sing Sinatra -- just not Frank Sintara. During the Smackdown Round against The Penguin, he belted out a rendition of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" which was slightly closer to the kind of music Pinsky had trained to sing in his younger years.
"I started [singing] in college opera, and I did it all the way through residency, and I never really did anything with it," he shared. "I thought about doing it for real for about five minutes and very wisely thought otherwise."
Ultimately, despite the weirdness and awkwardness of the show, Pinsky says he's most disappointed that he didn't get to do more of it.
"It was nerve-racking and intense and fun and, I can't say enough, this is such a high quality production. Everyone is great. It's upbeat, it's a lot of fun," he said. "One of my great regrets in getting kicked off is I wanted to hang out with those people more, but otherwise I was relieved."
The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.
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