Bethany Hamilton Defends Masked Singer Appearance After Nephew’s Death

Surfer Bethany Hamilton wanted to bring some joy to the Masked Singer stage, especially for those going through a dark time.

“We all will face hardship at some point or another in our life,” the 34-year-old said in an interview with People after being unmasked on the Wednesday, November 13, episode of the singing competition series. “And I really just wanted to encourage people to know that they can endure and persevere, and so much good and beauty can come from some of the most awful things in life.”

Hamilton was revealed to be the famous face under the Macaroon mask, getting eliminated after performing Carly Rae Jepsen’s song “Call Me Maybe.” While her time on the show wasn’t long, Hamilton was “grateful” for the experience.

“When I first got invited, I thought that they were going to bring me on as a judge — I literally had no clue,” she reflected. “I sing to my children every single day, but I wouldn’t say it’s my gift and life talent. Maybe I’ll stick to surfing.”

Hamilton, who shares children Tobias, 9, Wesley, 6, Micah, 3, and Alaya, 17 months, with husband Adam Dirks, is no stranger to overcoming adversity. In 2003, she lost her left arm in a shark attack. The following year, she returned to surfing and wrote a memoir titled Soul Surfer, which was made into a movie in 2011 starring AnnaSophia Robb.

“Anytime I go in the public eye is to remind people of overcoming the hardships in life,” she said.

Hamilton’s appearance on The Masked Singer comes nearly one month after her 3-year-old nephew, Andrew, died in a drowning accident. (Hamilton likely filmed her Masked Singer appearance before Andrew’s death.)

“The Lord has received my sweet nephew Andrew into his beautiful care. While my family and I will miss him dearly, we trust that his joy is full with Jesus,” she wrote via Instagram in October. “Here is a prayer of faith that was prayed by my brother, and our whole family, this last week. This prayer paints so incredibly what it is to have faith. Faith is to trust that God’s will for our life is greater than our own. Thank you all for the love, prayers and support in this trying time. Be blessed.”

Andrew is survived by his parents, Hamilton’s brother Timothy and his wife Kyah, and siblings Thomas, Joshua, Matthew, Noelle and John, as well as his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.