Overview
- Before first pitch at Citi Field on Thursday, the Broadway star briefly lost his place during the nationally televised anthem for Mets–Pirates and then finished without further errors.
- He repeated the earlier line “What so proudly we hailed” instead of singing “O’er the ramparts we watched,” which effectively skipped that lyric.
- Fan video raced across X and news sites, fueling jokes, criticism, and some sympathy, with many noting the irony given his role as George Washington in Hamilton.
- Jackson told TMZ that one line “got away” from him for a few seconds, called the moment human, and said he was grateful to take part in Opening Day.
- Jackson is a Tony-nominated, Grammy-winning performer with prior clean anthem renditions, and the song’s twisting phrasing and stadium echo make live versions easy to derail even for seasoned singers.