Broadway star Christopher Jackson made a regrettable blunder while singing the national anthem at the Mets’ opening day game.
While belting out the anthem ahead of the New York Mets’ and Pittsburgh Pirates’ opening day game on Thursday at Citi Field, Jackson forgot some of the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The award-winning singer, 50, repeated the line “What so proudly we hailed,” instead of singing, “O’er the ramparts we watched.” The broadcast panned to audience members who noticed Jackson’s mistake. He then finished the anthem without any further blips.
Jackson addressed the mistake after the event, telling TMZ, “Today it was for about five seconds … and one line got away from me. I’m human. But I won’t hesitate to step up to a mic and pay tribute to those that we honor with the anthem."
Superstitious Met fans took note of the singer’s error, venting about the incident on X.
Jackson isn’t alone in botching the national anthem. In 2011, Christina Aguilera forgot an entire line while performing at the Super Bowl. In 2018, “Black Eyed Peas” alum, Fergie, was met with widespread criticism for her jazz rendition of the anthem. She later told TMZ, “I’m a risk-taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn’t strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best.”
The award-winning Hamilton singer similarly said he’s had “the honor of singing the National Anthem countless times in stadiums around the country.” He added that it was a “beautiful opening day” and that he was thrilled to be a part of it.
“Grateful to the Mets and MLB for allowing me to be a small part of the day,” Jackson said after the performance.
Starting in 2015, Jackson played the original part of George Washington in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s biographical musical about the history of the U.S. and its founding fathers. Jackson concluded his run as Washington in November 2016. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his role.
The actor has appeared in several notable television shows, including The Good Wife, Gossip Girl, and White Collar. He most recently played Herbert Wexley, a major character in And Just Like That..., HBO’s Sex and the City reboot.
