Michelle Williams has been unmasked as the singing Butterfly on ‘The Masked Singer.’
In an interview following the big reveal, Michelle says that the mental health struggles she faced towards the end of last year were still present during her time on the show, but she used her experience to help get better.
Check out a few excerpts via People:
Why was The Masked Singer the right choice for your return to the spotlight?
In my time away, I didn’t have to be on. I didn’t have to sit in the hair and makeup chair and turn into this entertainer. [With Masked Singer] I just felt like I was literally going onto the set, nobody knows it’s me and having a blast just being me. That’s what I will take into every situation is to be me, and whoever’s for me, you’re going to be there for me. Opportunities will be there for me being me.
How was your mental health going into the show?
I was stable enough, but still a little fragile, but thinking that this is going to give me some strength. Because you can’t stay in your cocoon forever, you’ve got to come out.
You talked on the show about feeling insecure in your voice. What made you feel that way?
It’s been that way for a long time. I remember growing up in church and how there was a lot of use with me there. I was very active in my church, very active with various choirs and groups and leading things and teaching at a very young age and sometimes you come into the entertainment world and they don’t appreciate that about you. Of course, I come into a group that already existed, it’s not like I’m a founding member, so it’s kind of like I’ve already got an “X” on my back. That insecurity started 20 years ago, if I’m being honest. And it just builds and builds because I feel like, I’m never going to be able to please anybody. Until you can get to a place where you’re like, “The people that are for me are for me, they buy my music, they support the shows that I do,” it might take you a while to get to that point.
Did you feel like you weren’t able to fully be yourself when you were sharing the stage with others in Destiny’s Child or Broadway?
No. The good thing about being in a group is that you do have other people to lean on. Being in a group we had fun between the three of us. We had a good time and that translates into the relationship that we have with one another today almost 20 years later.
Were you surprised the panelists suspected you were Kelly Rowland?
When you’ve been hanging around somebody for 20 years, no matter if I deny it or not, they’re looking at me like, “Girl!” Last night under my Instagram, Kelly called me out by my entire government name. I responded back. I said, “Kelly, you know we girls are the queens of secrets of reveals.” I want her to do the show! I actually hope that she gets the opportunity. I know her schedule has been bonkers, so I hope she does it.
Have any other famous friends been in touch? Solange or Beyoncé?
Those are my girls! I love them to the moon. I can’t wait to see them. I head to L.A. on Sunday night.
What’s next for you?
I’m doing a limited run in a show called A Snow White Christmas. I go from being the Butterfly on The Masked Signer to being the wicked queen in A Snow White Christmas. We’ll be in Pasadena Dec. 13-22 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Right now we’re in Raleigh, North Carolina, until this Sunday.
What did you learn about yourself from doing The Masked Singer?
I learned that sometimes we can let our fears cloud how strong we actually are. The majority of the time the stuff that plays in our head is lies. Lies can rob you of your strength. I also learned to not make permanent decisions out of temporary feelings. I don’t know if I want to perform again. Of course, I’ll do theater and all that stuff but do I really want to be an artist full-time? I want to make sure if the answer is no, that the reasoning behind it is not because of feeling like you’re not wanted in the industry. It has to be because you know you can go on and do something greater.
Does that mean you’re still figuring out your next steps in terms of music?
I’m definitely trying to figure things out musically. I know the way we used to do music years ago, you can’t really do it anymore. It doesn’t have to be: okay, every two years you have to release music. If I want to get up in the middle of the night and write a song to a track and release it the next day or two days later, you can do that. You might be the type of free spirit where you’ll be [on social media] like, “Hey you guys, I’m about to release a song tomorrow.”
Have you been feeling the love on social media since the unmasking?
I want to thank you all so much for the support and the love. That’s what we need is more love and if it’s moments like this that show people, love, keep The Masked Singer on forever. I had one person who told me that I found a new fan in them. Hopefully I turned some naysayers to believers. And I’m hoping people were inspired and encouraged and say, “Okay, she’s not just Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child. That’s Michelle Williams.” In parenthesis, the black one.
We’re happy to Michelle is in a better place and we wish her the absolute best!
