Christie Brinkley's Masked Singer Costume Was Incredibly Painful

The intricate costumes contestants don when performing on "The Masked Singer" are unfortunately not always as fun to wear as they are to look at. Christie Brinkley was the cuddly Lemur from Season 7 and lamented that her costume was not the most comfortable. She told People that the long, striped tail attached to the costume, " ... was actually more like having a telephone pole strapped to my body. It was very heavy. And my shoes were inside my pants. So, my shoes were not very comfortable. They were really quite excruciating, in fact."

Brinkley chose the Lemur costume as opposed to the other one offered to her by "The Masked Singer" team. The other option, " ... was very body con. I thought to myself, 'I'll be sucking in my stomach the whole time in that costume.'" The Lemur seemed like a more comfortable option and was unlike anything she'd been offered to wear before. Due to the costume's difficulties, Brinkley said, "... And that little cuddly Lemur ended up being a beast." She struggled to breathe in the mascot's head.

However, the weight of the tail was the main struggle with Brinkley's costume. The tail in motion would knock her mascot head out of alignment and block her vision, sparking a fear of falling. Due to a shoulder injury sustained when Brinkley fell and broke her arm on "Dancing with the Stars," she struggled to move the Lemur mask to its rightful position.

Christie Brinkley remarked to Hello! that the Lemur tail she wore for "The Masked Singer" was, "... the biggest tail they ever created in the history of the show." She also said that the plethora of tail straps attached across her torso was meant to keep her steady, "... and I am in good shape, but I could hardly breathe and you need air to sing!" After explaining that the shoes were changed from flat shoes to heels when the Lemur costume came to life, Brinkley continued, "It was not my best performance in the world, but people were so kind and sweet."

Brinkley has opened up about her "Masked Singer" performance, which consisted of Brinkley's rendition of "I Feel the Earth Move" by Carole King. In her official Unmasked Interview after the reveal, Brinkley talked about how enjoyable the experience was, despite the costume difficulties. "It was impossible for me to sing and dance in my costume. ... My tail can literally tilt my entire equilibrium," she said. "But if I made anybody laugh at home, then it was well worth it."

In her Instagram post about her time as the Lemur, Brinkley mentioned that the night before, she had food poisoning. However, she was still able to perform and said, " I ... gave it my best shot ... and I had a great time doing it!" Brinkley's caption also mentioned the heavy costume, calling it, " ... a great work out [sic] too ... " and explaining what it felt like to wear.

The Lemur costume is not the only outfit from "The Masked Singer" that caused its occupant trouble. Singer Ray Parker Jr. dressed as Sir Bug a Boo in Season 8, and he also found it difficult to breathe and navigate the stage in his costume. "And it's hot inside," Parker said to Fox News Digital. "You can't breathe, so you're trying to read the lyrics, trying to sing, trying to perform." He added that the stage lights made it worse, comparing the experience to exercise. Parker's headpiece did not stay in place well, either. However, same as Brinkley, Parker really liked his time on the show.

In another shocking reveal from "The Masked Singer" history, the Gremlin (a.k.a., Mickey Rourke) was uncomfortable and unmasked himself in Season 4. He told Nick Cannon in a clip from the episode, "I want to take this off right now." After Rourke revealed himself, Cannon said, "This is a 'Masked Singer' first. ... Mickey said, 'Dammit, it's hot. I'm taking it off.'"