An NBC Sports spokesperson admits that they 'misidentified' the country singer as the RnB artist in an apology note published on social media hours after the performance ended.
- February 15, 2022
AceShowbiz - NBC tries to make amends. An NBC Sports spokesperson has issued a public apology after a camera guy mistakenly mixed up Mickey Guyton and Jhene Aiko during a Super Bowl pre-show performance.
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."
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."
