Fans who tuned in early to Super Bowl LVI on Sunday were treated to a glorious two-hander from Jhené Aiko and Mickey Guyton during NBC’s preshow presentation ahead of the big game.
via: AceShowbiz
A few hours after the performance ended, a PR representative for the TV broadcasting company tweeted, “Leading into Jhene Aiko singing ‘America the Beautiful,’ we incorrectly showed Mickey Guyton and misidentified her before showing Aiko’s performance.” The note continued, “We apologize to both artists for the error.”
From NBC Sports spokesperson: “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.”
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) February 14, 2022
Despite the apology note, some Twitter users urged NBC to air the apology with both Mickey and Jhene present. “The@apology should be announced on TV with both women present,” a critic penned. A second agreed to the idea as saying, “I Totally Agree !!!! Bring Them BOTH Back Into The Spotlight/On The Air TOGETHER AND GIVE THEM BOTH A Bouquet of Flowers.”
“THIS IS NOT SUFFICIENT! NBC NEEDS TO DO MORE TO MAKE UP FOR THIS GLARING ERROR!” someone else fumed. In the meantime, a separate Twitter user wrote, “Some white people working the booth are clueless as f**k.”
On Sunday, NBC briefly misidentified country singer Mickey as Grammy nominee Jhene during a pre-show performance at SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California. During the show, the network’s telecast first panned over Mickey, who was on the field in preparation for her performance of the national anthem “The Star Spangled Banner”, with a chyron that labeled her as “Jhene Aiko” during Jhene’s performance of “America the Beautiful”.
A few seconds later, the incorrect name under Mickey disappeared. The camera then shifted to Jhene, who was flawlessly singing a soft rendition of the iconic song, and a new chyron correctly identified her as “Jhene Aiko.”
The misidentification of Mickey as Jhene drew some backlash on social media with critics calling the mistake “tone deaf.” A Twitter user wrote, “Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton don’t look alike. Tighten up NBC. All black folks don’t look alike.”
“Um. Did the director (or whoever) not know Mickey Guyton is not Jhene Aiko??? #SuperBowl,” a separate social media user sarcastically asked. Someone else wrote, “The cameraman having the camera on Mickey Guyton instead of Jhene Aiko is very telling #SuperBowl.”
I think it was a honest mistake.
They also introduced Mickey Guyton as Jhene Aiko! @Marc_Bertrand @scottzolak @HardyRadio @ZoandBertrand pic.twitter.com/gPFO9T55Bj
— Greg Gaetano (@Gitmo70) February 14, 2022
