There was not a dry eye in the house when Summer Warne was unmasked during the September 25 episode of The Masked Singer Australia 2023, dedicating her performance of Coldplay’s Yellow to her late father, Shane Warne.
Now, speaking to Mediaweek after her elimination, the 20-year-old has revealed how she is coping with the monumental loss and what qualities she has inherited from Australia’s most famous spin bowler.
“Every day brings a new challenge,” Summer said. “Every day, there’s something new that I wish I could tell him and sometimes a daughter just needs her dad’s advice, and they need that dad to lean on. But every day, I just think he would just want me to live my life and want me to be happy and live the life that he couldn’t. And so I’m just trying to make little special moments like this might just make just kind of make the most of it.”
Summer also revealed what she does to remember him following his death on March 4, 2022.
“If there’s a time that I’m struggling, that I really need him, I go back to watch videos and interviews and podcasts that he’s done,” she said. “And I just always remember the things he taught me and who to be.”
Summer and Shane Warne. Instagram
The quality Summer Warne inherited from Shane Warne
During an interview with the Herald Sun, Summer admitted that while overall the commentary on her performance was positive, just like her dad did in the past, she too received some negativity from online trolls.
“Everyone had a word to say about him but it never really got to him, unless it was to do with us three kids. Or to do with his family,” she told the publication. “I’ve got dad’s fire and I’m a bit of a hothead.”
When Mediaweek asked her what other qualities she inherited from her father, Summer summed it up beautifully.
“I think his thoughtfulness, his caringness [sic] and his honesty,” she said. “I’ll always be honest. I’ll never pretend to be someone that I’m not.”
She continued: “I will treat everyone the same. He always said, “No matter where you come from, no matter what status, how much money you have, who you are, where you went to school, everyone’s equal at the end of the day, and you treat everyone with the same respect and how you would want to be treated. It costs nothing to be kind.”
Summer also went on to say that she hoped her performance would give others hope that “anything is possible”.
“If I can go in a giant avocado on stage, you can do anything. You can go to that job interview, or you can ask that boy or girl out on a date. Just simple things like that. Just live your life the way you want and don’t let anyone tell you how to live it.”
Summer Warne as Bad Avocado. Ten
What’s next for Summer Warne?
After leaving the country in awe after her performance as Bad Avocado on The Masked Singer Australia, Summer is excited for the next chapter to begin.
In fact, performing is in her blood, having loved dancing and acting since the age of three. And while she tried out for school musicals when she was younger, Summer admitted she was “never good enough” and always ended up “playing a tree”.
“There are videos of me in ballet classes and dancing, acting, and singing classes,” she said. “Videos of me literally just trying and being the best person I could be. So, if anyone needs an extra or an actor or a little tomato or beetroot…I’m just so excited to kind of see where this takes me and the new experiences that will come up.”
The Masked Singer Australia continues Monday at 7.30 pm on 10 And 10Play.