Jimmy Kimmel Explains His Reaction To Fergie's National Anthem Performance

The late night host is speaking out about the Black Eyed Peas singer's recent rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner."

On Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, Jimmy Kimmel addressed Fergie's performance of the national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 18 — and his live reaction to her sultry take on the song. In the opening monologue of his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kimmel began, "I feel like I need to address something that happened on Sunday night at the NBA All-Star Game."

He continued, "So I was at the game with my son, Kevin, and, somehow, I became part of a national anthem fiasco. Did you see this? Fergie, the singer from the Black Eyed Peas, gave an unusually sultry version of our national anthem, and somehow I ended up in the middle of it."

Kimmel then shared a clip from Fergie's performance with his viewers, in which he could be seen in the NBA All-Star Game crowd, smiling as he appeared to struggle holding back his laughter. But Kimmel doesn't want people to think he was laughing at Fergie — or so he said. Kimmel told his audience that the reason he was smiling was because "I love the national anthem so much." He added, "That's the face I make when I really like a song."

Okay. Sure, Jimmy.

As Nicki Swift previously reported, Fergie, whose full name is Stacy Ann Ferguson, later apologized for her performance. "I'm a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn't strike the intended tone," she stated. "I love this country and honestly tried my best."

For other people hoping to put their own spin on the "Star-Spangled Banner," Kimmel has a little advice: Just don't do it.

"Don't take risks when you're doing brain surgery, don't take risks when you're driving a school bus or singing the national anthem," he joked. "Just regular is fine!"