NBC briefly misidentified country singer Mickey Guyton as Grammy nominee Jhene Aiko during a preshow performance at Super Bowl LVI on Sunday.
As seen in the video below, the broadcast network’s telecast first panned over Guyton, who was on the field in preparation for her performance of “The Star Spangled Banner,” with a chyron that labeled her as “Jhene Aiko” during Aiko’s performance of “America the Beautiful.” A few seconds later, the incorrect name disappeared under Guyton and the camera shifted to Aiko, who was singing, and a new chyron correctly identified her as “Jhene Aiko.”
When Aiko concluded her performance of “America the Beauitful,” Guyton sang the National Anthem ahead of the 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff for the big game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. For the National Anthem and “America the Beautiful,” actress Sandra Mae Frank performed both songs in American Sign Language on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf.
The misidentification of Guyton as Aiko drew some backlash on social media with users who called the mistake “tone deaf.”
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“ummm… who confused Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton? Its tone deaf…. (On your part),” one viewed tweeted. Another wrote: “Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton don’t look alike. Tighten up NBC. All black folks don’t look alike.”
NBC quickly apologized for the error.
“Leading into Jhene Aiko singing ‘America the Beautiful,’ we incorrectly showed Mickey Guyton and misidentified her before showing Aiko’s performance,” an NBC Sports spokesperson said in a statement tweeted just before 8 p.m. ET. “We apologize to both artists for the error.”
See additional Twitter reactions to the Guyton-Aiko mixup below.
@NBCNews #SuperBowlLVI ummm… who confused Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton? Its tone deaf…. (On your part) #mickeyguyton and #jheneaiko . #mickeyandjhene pic.twitter.com/UVy87K3BVl
— Mama Bear in California (@SydHast) February 13, 2022
did they just show mickey guyton when they announced jhene aiko…
— character actress georgie rae (@georgie_rae_) February 13, 2022
Not them showing Mickey Guyton with Jhene Aiko's name underneath. Come on now… pic.twitter.com/EVAKQ1ZOnc
— 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚕 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚜𝚝. (@travisfromdabk_) February 13, 2022
Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton don't look alike. Tighten up NBC. All black folks don't look alike pic.twitter.com/80dY3FfC1h
— THEE MsNikki_MindYaBusiness85 (@RhondaNicole25) February 13, 2022
oh lord @nbc how are you out here calling mickey guyton jhene aiko 🥴 #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/l5gN4yGB3c
— biddy (@queercroissant) February 13, 2022
Mickey Guyton slays the anthem.
Too bad the same couldn't be said for whoever wound up confusing for her Jhene Aiko. #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/wGVfKR8ash
— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) February 13, 2022
"Singing America the Beautiful, Jhene Aiko!"
Mickey Guyton when the camera looked at her: pic.twitter.com/miWDwenXOX
— Romeo (@Romeoohhh) February 13, 2022
They got Mickey Guyton and Jhené Aiko mixed up…the camera person didn't bother to pan away quick enough #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/OgljxRKnNB
— SirLeeJay (@SirLeeJay) February 13, 2022
Not NBC confusing Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton to get things started 😭🤦♀️
— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) February 13, 2022
Who is this cam op for the Super Bowl thinking Mickey Guyton is Jhene Aiko?
— destuhnee (@_destuhnee_) February 13, 2022
