Not long after the announcement that Gladys Knight will sing the national anthem at Super Bowl 53, the Atlanta native faced backlash.
Although many were delighted at the choice, others criticized her involvement, saying she shouldn’t be involved with the NFL after its treatment of former quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick has not been hired by any team since he took a knee on the field in protest of social injustices.
In a statement to Variety, Knight defended her decision to perform.
“I understand that Mr. Kaepernick is protesting two things, and they are police violence and injustice. It is unfortunate that our National Anthem has been dragged into this debate when the distinctive senses of the National Anthem and fighting for justice should each stand alone,” she wrote.
This isn’t the first time a national anthem performance has been controversial, although usually the criticism comes after the performance.
» Atlanta's own Gladys Knight will sing National Anthem at Super Bowl 53
Here are five performances of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that left audiences less than pleased.
Jimmy Buffett
The Saints fan sang the national anthem before the 2018 NFC Championship game in New Orleans — and ended the performance with a mic drop. Not everyone was impressed by his rendition or the drop.
Roseanne Barr
Who can forget Barr's 1990 performance before the start of a San Diego Padres game? Then-President George H.W. Bush called it "disgraceful."
At a news conference called by her then-husband, Tom Arnold, Barr tried to explain what happened.
“I thought I was OK in the beginning because it was 'Working Women's Night,' you know . . . and I sang about four notes and I thought I was OK. And then everybody started booing me and I really went through this panic thing and for a minute I thought about, 'Well, can I just get out of here? Can I just turn around and just quit?' "
"I knew I couldn't and I knew I had to finish it," she said. "So I just did the best I could. I'm not looking to apologize for doing it. It was the wrong choice for all of us. But nobody anticipated that it would be this negative."
Barr joked last February that a performance by Fergie was worse.
Fergie
Speaking of Fergie ...
The singer said she wanted “to try something special” for her rendition of the national anthem before the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. Her jazzy, slowed-down performance received enough backlash that Fergie issued an apology.
"I've always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA," she said in a statement acquired by People. "I'm a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn't strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best."
Steven Tyler
When the Aerosmith frontman performed the national anthem before the 2001 Indianapolis 500, he included a harmonica and his trademark howling, and changed some of the words. Instead of singing, “and the home of the brave,” Tyler sang, “and the home of the (long pause) Indianapolis 500.”
Carl Lewis
He's an Olympic champion, but that doesn't mean he can sing. When the track star performed before the 1993 NBA Finals, he began with "a note as sour as any pickled vegetable you'd find in the deepest reaches of Germany," a Los Angeles television station wrote. After his voice cracked at one point, he stopped and said: "Uh-oh. I'll make up for it now."
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