So, Fergie. Who doesn’t love Fergie, right? She gave us so many good songs in the early 2000s both as a solo artist and as a member of the once hugely popular group The Black Eyed Peas. Unfortunately, things haven’t been going so well for her as of late, when last year her and her former husband Josh Duhamel announced they would be splitting up. Her latest album also flopped, and on February 18, she appeared to embarrass herself and the nation by performing a version of the National Anthem at the NBA All Star Game that was… well… interesting.
Watch it here (but don’t say I didn’t warn you).
In fairness to Fergs, people have been overreacting. So much so, in fact, that she released a statement following her performance. “I’m a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn’t strike the intended tone,” she said. “I love this country and honestly tried my best.”
Though some people acknowledged that the Star Spangled Banner can be an incredibly difficult song to sing, she was dragged pretty harshly on social media. Clearly her risk did not work out well in the end.
Not EVERYONE is a critic, though. Fergie found an ally in Wiz Khalifa, who tweeted his support for her rendition.
I liked Fergies national anthem. It was orginal and fun just like her. People didn’t like Jimi Hendrix’s version of the anthem at the time he did it but it later became legendary. Takes guts to be yourself ??
— Wiz Khalifa (@wizkhalifa) February 19, 2018
Her ex-husband Josh also defended her on the Ellen show earlier this week.
Poor Fergie. I feel sorry for her, and I hope she gets her career back on track before it completely derails after this misstep. That’s showbiz!