The Super Bowl Broadcast Mistake That People Can't Believe Occurred Live On TV
Super Bowl LVI had a major screw-up before the game even started.
Super Bowl games have historically showcased some of the biggest mishaps in live television, whether it be broadcasting epic blunders or shortcomings on production's end. Janet Jackson's 2004 wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl halftime show will go down as one of the annual game's most infamous broadcast moments, as the Federal Communications Commission later sought to fine Jackson for showing too much skin on live TV. Honorable mentions go to Beyoncé's missed mark on the halftime stage in 2013 and Christina Aguilera flubbing the lines of the National Anthem in 2011.
The 2022 National Anthem, however, was delivered in a virtually flawless performance by country sensation Mickey Guyton. The singer's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" represented a big cultural moment, according to Guyton. "It's Black History Month, and a Black country singer gets to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. Wow," Guyton told the New York Post. "This is a huge moment for me. It's a huge moment for Black people. And I want to represent that in the best possible way that I can." Unfortunately, Guyton was misrepresented ahead of her performance and viewers are outraged by the careless mistake.
Mickey Guyton was mistaken for Jhene Aiko
Super Bowl broadcasters mistook Mickey Guyton for Jhene Aiko, who sang a stunning rendition of "America The Beautiful" before Guyton's National Anthem, TMZ reports. When announcers introduced Aiko, the camera stayed on Guyton for an uncomfortable length of time with Aiko's name even appearing under Guyton, effectively introducing her incorrectly.
Fans were upset by the mix-up, as it showed a level of disregard for Guyton and Aiko, who are both women of color. "Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton don't look alike," one viewer voiced on Twitter. "Tighten up NBC. All black folks don't look alike." Fans were disappointed the moment took away from both artists' special moments on screen. "Mickey Guyton slays the anthem," another viewer tweeted. "Too bad the same couldn't be said for whoever wound up confusing [her for] Jhene Aiko."
It seems Guyton did not let the screw-up steal her shine after her performance. "Thank you for lifting me up and holding me down," she wrote in celebration of her career-defining moment on Instagram. Guyton later appeared alongside Aiko on her Instagram Story, promoting a message of love with the sign language interpreter for their performances.
It's all good on Mickey Guyton's end for now
While many of Mickey Guyton's fans are up in arms over the huge televised faux pas, the singer hopped on to Twitter to let her fans know that she wasn't going to let the mistake take away from what was perhaps one of the best nights of her career so far. She tweeted, "Just wanted to check in and tell y'all I love you! Thank you for today."
Of course, it didn't take long for her fans and followers to respond, with many of them replying, "What an amazing, powerful, gorgeous singing of the National Anthem, I had goosebumps!!! Tears!!! It just touched me deeply. Congratulations!!!!" Others wrote, "And I want to tell you, I'm embarrassed that I never knew a beautiful soul like you was so talented, thank you for singing our anthem now I'm downloading the album #RememberHerName." If that weren't enough, The Washington Post said that Guyton's performance was a decade in the making, while others made it pretty clear that they are now Guyton's stans for life.
With that said, it doesn't look like the controversy is going to fade from memory anytime soon.
NBC is getting dragged on Twitter for their embarrassing mistake
After realizing that the mistake was made on-air, the PR department from NBC Sports quickly took to their official Twitter account to release a statement about the matter. A spokesperson said, "Leading into Jhene Aiko singing 'America the Beautiful,' we incorrectly showed Mickey Guyton and misidentified her before showing Aiko's performance. We apologize to both artists for the error."
And while Guyton clearly wants to move past this already, Jhene Aiko has not made any comments on her social media accounts at the time of this writing. However, she did congratulate her home team, the Los Angeles Rams, for their big Super Bowl win on Instagram. Either way, there's no doubt that we will be hearing more about these talented artists now that they have taken center stage at the biggest sporting event of the year. And we're sure everyone will remember their names now.