The panelists on “The Masked Dancer” were skunked once again on Wednesday’s episode when they all failed to guess “Jersey Shore” star Vinny Guadagnino was twirling around in the Hammerhead costume. Nobody was more upset than Paula Abdul, who named Vinny earlier in the episode but changed her mind at the last minute and guessed YouTube star David Dobrik was the light-footed shark. “I hate me,” she joked before telling the Keto Guido, “I love you though!” The Hammerhead was eliminated in the Super Six, failing to advance to the next round after his “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” Paso Doble.
SEE See all 62 ‘The Masked Singer’ costumes and celebrity reveals through the years
“These aren’t my real muscles by the way,” Vinny admitted during his unmasked interview with host Craig Robinson. But how was his experience in the competition? “It was great,” he said with certainty. “I’m not a professional dancer, you guys nailed it! But I like to learn new things. I had so much fun. This was the most fun thing I’ve ever done. The Hammerhead is not who I am in real life at all, so I love the anonymity of it. I got to go crazy and surprise everybody!”
The panel may have been wrong across the board, but they came oh, so close! Ken Jeong and guest panelist Whitney Cummings thought it was Vinny’s bestie, DJ Pauly D. Brian Austin Green thought the muscled up fish was another castmate from the shore, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino. Ashley Tisdale was further off the mark, naming comedian Kevin Hart and Paula went with YouTuber David Dobrik.
Vinny revealed that the Las Vegas sign in his clue packages was a reference to his occasional residency as a stripper in the Chippendales. The eye chart in Hammerhead’s package was a clue to his former clothing brand I Have a Vision. The burger was a hint to Vinny’s starring role in MTV’s “The Hard Times of R.J. Berger.” And when Vinny took his shirt off in his first performance it was a nod to his residency at Chippendales.
Vinny was the fifth dancer to be unmasked this season, preceded by Ice-T as the Disco Ball, Bill Nye as the Ice Cube, Elizabeth Smart as the Moth and Brian McKnight as the Cricket. The five remaining two-steppers still in contention for the Diamond Mask trophy are Cotton Candy, Exotic Bird, Sloth, Tulip and Zebra. Did you guess Vinny G was dancing behind the Hammerhead mask?
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Been losing sleep over trying to figure out the names of the stars performing in elaborate costumes on “The Masked Dancer” premiere? We’ve done some sleuthing since episode one debuted on December 27 and was repeated three days later. We are pretty sure we have uncovered the identities of the four contestants who made it through to the next round, including the real identity of the Hammerhead. He got the series off to a rousing start with his sizzling routine set to “Everybody” by Backstreet Boys .
Forget the guesses by the panel (Paula Abdul, Brian Austin Green, Ken Jeong, Ashley Tisdale) that the Hammerhead is Carrot Top, Zac Efron or Joe Jonas. We’ve analyzed his individual clues and the ones given as a group for all 10 celebrities taking part on season 1 of “The Masked Dancer.” We are convinced we know who is hidden inside this cumbersome costume. Keep reading for “The Masked Dancer” spoilers, including our best guess as to the real name of the Hammerhead.
We heard the Hammerhead say, “As a shark, I’ve always been killing it. I’m a workaholic. But things have never come easy to me. I made them happen. I became famous almost too quickly. That early fame, it felt great at the time, but then it started to feel like my best moments were behind me. I had departed from who I was and then shifted into who I thought everyone wanted me to be. I just realized I wasn’t happy. So now I’m visiting everything I missed out on. By swimming away from what comes easy and swimming toward everything that used to scare me. I pumped the brakes on where my life was headed. Now, moving backwards is how I move my life forward. Staying hungry for learning, for love and for life.”
The single word spoken by Hammerhead in his undisguised voice was “dramatic.”
SEE ‘The Masked Dancer’ spoilers: The Tulip is …
Putting all of this together along with the visual clues has us convinced that the Hammerhead is “Jersey Shore” stud Vinny Guadagnino.
Any fan of the long-running MTV franchise knows that Vinny is buff, just like Hammerhead. And they are the same height. The costume certainly suggests the seaside and taken together references Vinny’s SyFy film “Jersey Shore Shark Attack.”
Other visual clues tie in to Vinny’s other TV appearances: we see the word “talk” in a cup of alphabet soup: Vinny had his own talk show on MTV in 2013. Two years earlier, he guested on the show “The Life and Times of RJ Berger,” which would explain the shot of the hamburger.
SEE ‘The Masked Dancer’ spoilers: The Cricket is …
Vinnie’s best bud on “Jersey Shore,” DJ Pauly D, dropped a track last year with the title “Silver and Gold,” the same colors as Hammerhead’s grill. Vinny was also busy in 2019 as a featured dancer in the Chippendales show in Las Vegas.
But the biggest giveaway came via a clue that was posted on the show’s official Instagram: “”I bought someone I love a car for Christmas and it Jingle Bell ROCKed!” That is just what Vinny did for his mother last year.
We won’t get confirmation that Vinny Guadagnino is the Hammerhead till he is unmasked. That will only happen if he loses a match-up or wins the competition. Do you think we are right about the real name of the Hammerhead? Sound off in the comments section with your best guesses.
SEE ‘The Masked Dancer’ spoilers: The Exotic Bird is …
Be sure to make your predictions to influence our reality TV racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs on Fox. You’ll compete to win eternal bragging rights and a spot on our “The Masked Dancer” Season 1 leaderboard. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
November 11, 1987 (age 34)
Hammerhead is a masked celebrity on the US series The Masked Dancer.
Appearance[]
Hammerhead is dressed up similarly to the stereotypical "surfer dude". He wears a yellow tank top with a golden chain around his neck and red shorts with golden edges. His shoes are two different colors - the left is blue with red laces and the right is red with gold laces. The mask is a hammerhead shark's head with an open mouth for the celebrity to see through.
Dance/Music[]
| 1 | "Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)" by Backstreet Boys | SAFE |
| 4 | "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd | SAFE |
| 5 | "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Santa Esmeralda | ELIM |
Clues[]
| 1 | "As a shark, I've always been killing it. I'm a workaholic. But things have never come easily to me. I made them happen. I became famous too quickly. That early fame it felt great at the time, but then it started to feel like my best moments were behind me. I had departed from who I was, and shifted into who I thought everyone wanted me to be. I realized I just wasn't happy. So now I'm revisiting evrything I missed out on by swimming away from what comes easy and straight towards everything that used to scare me. I pumped the brakes on where my life was headed. Now, moving backwards is the way I move my life fowards, staying hungry for learning, for love, and for life. |
| 4 | “The best part about this experience is being here on my own terms. And last time, I really wanted to show I could be the life of the party. But people already know that side of me. So this time, I’m going to show I’m so much more. I have layers. Years ago, when I first entered the public eye, I had one shot, one opportunity. I didn’t want to lose myself. But I sort of did. I gave up my dream of being a lawyer. I was depressed, like I was locked in a cage. Eventually, I realized that in order to succeed, I had to embrace both parts of me: my fun-loving side and my disciplined side. And this performance is a combination of both. Fear is no longer a factor for me. Though the dance steps are really hard. I finally found my purpose in my situation. To earn my spot in the Super Six, get ready to see a different side of my heart. Hammerhead out.” |
| 5 | “I can’t believe I made it to the Super Six. I might not be the best dancer, but I am loving this. I do not want to go home. In my mask, I can finally let loose, and it’s liberating. Tonight I’m doing the Paso Double. Remember, when you mess with the bull, you get the horns. Or in my case, mess with the shark, you get the teeth. And since this bull fight is BYO clue, who wants to get my back?” |
| 1 | "Dramatic" |
| 4 | "Heartbreaker" |
| The Las Vegas sign was a clue towards Vinny's residency in the famous Vegas stripping club, Chippendales. |
| The recurring beach clues in the Hammerhead's packages were clues to Vinny's appearances on the MTV show Jersey Shore. |
| The wedding cake in Vinny's package referred to the time when he and his Jersey Shore co-star, Pauly D., got "bromitted" to one another. |
Final Guesses[]
| 5 | David Dobrik | Pauly D | Pauly D | Kevin Hart | Michael Sorrentino |
Videos[]
The Masked Dancer Latte Art - THE MASKED DANCER
Ken Thinks Hammerhead Is Ryan Seacrest - Season 1 Ep. 4 - THE MASKED DANCER
The Panel Weighs In On Hammerhead's Identity - Season 1 Ep. 4 - THE MASKED DANCER
Clues[]
The Clues- Hammerhead - Season 1 Ep. 1 - THE MASKED DANCER
The Clues- Hammerhead - Season 1 Ep. 4 - THE MASKED DANCER
The Hammerhead Is Revealed - Season 1 Ep. 5 - THE MASKED DANCER
Performances[]
Hammerhead Dances To "Everybody" By The BackStreet Boys - Masked Dancer - S1 E1
Hammerhead Dances To "Blinding Lights" By The Weeknd - Masked Dancer - S1 E4
Hammerhead Dances To "Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstand" By Santa Esmeralda - Masked Dancer - S1 E5
Reveal[]
The Hammerhead Is Revealed - Season 1 Ep. 5 - THE MASKED DANCER
Interview Unmasked[]
Hyundai Presents Hammerhead's Unmasked Interview - Season 1 Ep. 5 - THE MASKED DANCER