'The Masked Singer' Shock as New Contestant Pulls Out Ahead of Semifinals

The Masked Singer fans were left stunned during Wednesday evening's episode after one of the new additions to the cast revealed they were pulling out of the singing competition.

Scarecrow took to the stage for the first time during the Fox show's November 23 "Fright Night" episode, performing alongside those in the Sir Bug a Boo and Snowstorm costumes.

On the spookily themed edition, Scarecrow, who had a pumpkin for a head and was wearing a witches' hat, gave a performance of "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band to panelists Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg and Nicole Scherzinger.

Sir Bug a Boo sang "Devil with the Blue Dress On" by Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels, while Snowstorm gave a rendition of "Sweet but Psycho" by Ava Max in the hope of making it through to Thursday night's semifinal.

Normally on The Masked Singer one performer is knocked out instantly after the first round, leaving the remaining two performers to compete in a battle royale to determine who will proceed to the next stage.

But before host Nick Cannon could announce which of the three performers received the least number of votes from the panel and studio audience, Scarecrow unmasked herself and pulled out of the competition.

Earlier this year, ahead of the show's return, The Masked Singer's official Instagram account shared that Scarecrow's first clue was a crow, leading fans to predict it could be Smashing Pumpkin's lead singer Billy Corgan, singer Michelle Branch or The Vampire Diaries actor Ian Somerhalder behind the mask.

During the episode, however, it was revealed that the famous face behind the Scarecrow mask was actually The Exorcist actress Linda Blair.

The star played Regan MacNeil in the 1973 horror film, and won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award for her performance.

On The Masked Singer Blair revealed to a stunned Cannon why she was leaving the show, saying: "I love this show so much.

"I want to share how much I love you and what you all have done for the world and family entertainment. But I would like to officially bow out and unmask and let these two incredible competitors go on. These two competitors are the real deal. I just came to bother Ken [Jeong]."

Blair, who has now stepped back from acting, added that she came on the show to publicise her work in rescuing animals across the country.

The star, 63, has been rescuing animals since 1997, and in 2006 created her nonprofit Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, with a mission "to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home shelter animals while also focusing on educating the public on important life threatening issues plaguing the animal community today."

Newsweek has contacted representatives for Blair for comment.

Following Scarecrow's shock exit Sir Bug a Boo and Snowstorm battled it out on stage, each performing "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell.

The panel voted for Snowstorm to stay and Sir Bug a Boo was revealed to be Ray Parker Jr., who wrote and performed the Ghostbusters theme song.

Snowstorm will now compete in the semifinals against Harp, who fans think is Glee actress Amber Riley, and the Lambs, who viewers believe are "Hold On" hitmakers Wilson Phillips.

The Masked Singer semis air on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.