Roseanne Barr has sympathy for anyone who botches the national anthem. The former “Roseanne” star, 71, spoke out in defense of country singer Ingrid Andress, who was widely criticized for her performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the MLB Home Run Derby on Monday.
Andress, 32, later revealed she was drunk and announced her plans to enter rehab. Barr, who did her own much-maligned rendition of the national anthem over 30 years ago, defended Andress in an interview with TMZ on Tuesday.
The actress stated that the national anthem is the “hardest in the world” to perform and that Andress’ rendition wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be. Barr even admitted that she believes her own national anthem performance is still the worst of all time.
In 1990, Barr became a laughingstock for her brutal performance at a San Diego Padres baseball game. She screeched the lyrics and even plugged her ears during her rendition. To make matters worse, Barr capped off the infamous moment by grabbing her crotch and spitting on the pitcher’s mound.
Everyone had something to say about Barr’s performance at the time — including then-President George H.W. Bush, who called it “disgraceful.”
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In 2016, Barr explained what went wrong during her performance. “I started too high. I knew about six notes in that I couldn’t hit the big note,” she told the Washington Post. “So I just tried to get through it, but I couldn’t hear anything with 50,000 drunk a–es booing, screaming ‘you fat f–k,’ giving me the finger, and throwing bottles at me during the song they ‘respect’ so much.”
Andress faced similar struggles during her performance at Monday’s Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Some MLB All-Stars, including Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm, struggled to keep their composure while Andress was singing. Fans roasted Andress on social media, comparing her performance to Barr’s infamous rendition.
“May have moved Roseanne Barr down to number two worst anthem!!” one user exclaimed on X. “Roseanne Barr is trending in case you wanted to know how bad that anthem just was,” another fan wrote. “Roseanne Barr still had the worst Anthem ever but tonight was pretty close,” someone else added.
Fans also compared Andress’ performance to Fergie’s at the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend. The Black Eyed Peas singer’s rendition was widely considered one of the worst, prompting Fergie to later address the backlash by saying, “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.” Barr even tweeted about Fergie’s performance at the time, saying, “Who saw Fergie’s national anthem performance at the NBA All-Star Game? I think mine was better lowkey.”
Andress, for her part, claimed she was intoxicated during the Home Run Derby when she addressed her viral performance. “I’m not gonna bulls–t y’all, I was drunk last night,” the “Lady Like” singer said in a statement on social media Tuesday. “I’m checking myself into a facility today to get the help I need. That was not me last night. I apologize to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition,” Andress continued. “I’ll let y’all know how rehab is. I hear it’s super fun.”
Barr, having faced similar backlash decades ago, offered a supportive perspective, acknowledging the difficulty of the song and the pressure that comes with performing it.
