1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: a show that hits the high end low notes of history. 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: Every day of the week, I'm Gay Bluesier, and today 5 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: we're revisiting one of the most misguided promotional events in 6 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: baseball history, the time when Roseanne Barr sang the national anthem, 7 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: or at least attempted to. The day was July. Actress 8 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 1: and comedian Roseanne Barr sang an ear splitting rendition of 9 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 1: the Star Spangled banner before the start of a Major 10 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: League baseball game. The off putting performance took place during 11 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: the break between games of a double header played by 12 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds. That evening, 13 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: more than twenty seven thousand fans had packed into San 14 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium ready for an evening of America's 15 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: favorite pastime. But what they didn't expense of America's national anthem, 16 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: one that President George H. W. Bush later described as 17 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: quote disgraceful. Roseanne's singing was offensive enough, but what really 18 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 1: set off the crowd that night were the gestures she 19 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: made at the end of the song. After singing the 20 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: final sour note, the comedians spat on the ground and 21 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: then grabbed her crotch just before leaving the field. The 22 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: garbled singing and rude gestures were interpreted by many as 23 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: intentionally disrespectful, especially in a navy town like San Diego. 24 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: The national backlash was swift and severe, eventually prompting a 25 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: public apology from Roseanne. But whose idea was it to 26 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: have her sing the anthem in the first place, and 27 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: did she really mean to disrespect the country or was 28 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: it one big misunderstanding. We'll try to answer those questions today, 29 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: but before we do, I think it's important that you 30 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:21,359 Speaker 1: hear the performance for yourself. Apologies in advance. Hey, welcome. 31 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: Given what you just heard, you're probably wondering why anyone 32 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: would book Roseanne bar for a singing gig. It was 33 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 1: a misjudgment, to be sure, but at the time it 34 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: did make at least a little sense. That's because in 35 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 1: bars hit sitcom, Roseanne was one of the top rated 36 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: shows in the country, averaging more than twenty one million 37 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: viewers each week. The actress was at the very top 38 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: of her game, which is more than could be said 39 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: for the San Diego Padres. By July of that year, 40 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,480 Speaker 1: the team ranked ninth in National League attendance and was 41 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: sporting a dismal season record of forty one wins to 42 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: fifty four losses. It wasn't the best time to be 43 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: a Padres fan, and it wasn't the best time to 44 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: be the Padres owner either. In fact, just one month earlier, 45 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: McDonald's heiress Joan Kroc sold the team to an investment 46 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: group fronted by TV producer Tom Werner as the new owner. 47 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: Werner was eager to reverse the team's fortunes as quickly 48 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: as possible, and you figured the best way to do 49 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: it was to borrow some star power from a friend 50 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: in Hollywood. As the star of TV's most popular show, Roseanne, 51 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: Barr was the natural choice. This was especially true since 52 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: Tom Werner was an executive producer on Roseanne. Having her 53 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: participate in a stadium event would allow him to promote 54 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: two of his properties at the same time. The only 55 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: question was what role she could play in the event. 56 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: On her show and in her stand up, Barr had 57 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 1: developed the persona of a crass, blue collar mom. With 58 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,360 Speaker 1: this in mind, Werner came up with a stadium promotion 59 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 1: called working women's night. Roseanne was on board with the idea, 60 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: but when asked what she'd like to do with the event, 61 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: she made an unexpected suggestion she wanted to sing the 62 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,600 Speaker 1: national anthem. Werner signed off on the plan without hearing 63 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:45,719 Speaker 1: a single note. There wasn't even a rehearsal on the 64 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: day of the event. He was surely aware that singing 65 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 1: wasn't the comedian strong suit, but he likely assumed that 66 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: her popularity would make up for a week performance. Unfortunately, 67 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: that wasn't the case. It's hard to imagine, but according 68 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:04,040 Speaker 1: to Roseanne herself, she wasn't trying to make a joke 69 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:07,720 Speaker 1: of her performance. She was taking it seriously. She told 70 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: the l A Times that she was flattered by the 71 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,160 Speaker 1: invitation and that she considered herself a pretty good singer. 72 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: Not many people in the stadium that night agreed, and 73 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 1: even fewer took Roseanne's side. However, many years later, Red's 74 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:28,159 Speaker 1: first baseman, how Morris, offered a surprisingly sympathetic take. He said, quote, 75 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: MY impression was that she started to sing the anthem, 76 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 1: and she probably wasn't the most talented singer, and I 77 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,039 Speaker 1: think the crowd's perception was that she was doing that 78 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 1: on purpose. They started giving her negative feedback, booing her 79 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: a little bit. So she played to the crowd and 80 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: kind of exacerbated her singing. I have a lot of 81 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: respect for anyone that goes out there and tries to 82 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: sing the anthem in front of a crowd like that 83 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,480 Speaker 1: at a major league game. I just thought that her 84 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:58,479 Speaker 1: singing chops probably weren't the greatest. That's fair enough. But 85 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: what about those rude gestures that Roseanne concluded with the 86 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: spitting and crotch grabbing. Well, that part actually was meant 87 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: to be funny, but the joke wasn't on the national anthem. 88 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:13,560 Speaker 1: It was supposed to be on baseball players, a parody 89 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: of their stereotypical behavior on the field. The gestures had 90 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 1: been planned from the start, but once Roseanne heard the 91 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: crowd's reaction to her singing is she probably should have 92 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: scrapped the idea. That's not the way it went, though, 93 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:30,239 Speaker 1: and while the players may have forgotten all about the incident, 94 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,119 Speaker 1: the media and the fans did not. In the days 95 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: that followed, reactions and the press ranged from patriotic chiding 96 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:43,160 Speaker 1: to personal attacks, including childish insults about Roseanne's appearance and wait, 97 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,480 Speaker 1: The backlash was so intense that two days after the event, 98 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: the comedian called a press conference to give her side 99 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,839 Speaker 1: of the story. She said, quote, I'm not going to 100 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: apologize for doing it, because I feel like it was 101 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: the wrong choice for all of us to make, But 102 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,839 Speaker 1: not anybody anticipated the reaction would be this negative. You 103 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: can all take this as fun, or you can act 104 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:09,039 Speaker 1: like this is the worst thing committed by an American. 105 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: I went down there with the best intentions, though we 106 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: thought it would be a fun, positive thing. I'm sorry 107 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 1: I didn't sing so good. How much more can I say? 108 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: Reporters pressed Roseanne on the idea that she had insulted 109 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 1: the nation, pointing out that even the President had found 110 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: her singing disgraceful. She responded, quote, I'd like to hear 111 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 1: him sing it. She then went on to defend her 112 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 1: right to sing the national anthem, saying quote, I represent 113 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: a certain part of America that probably no one else represents, 114 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: and I came out of someplace and got someplace, and 115 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: I've got a right to sing that song. More than 116 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 1: thirty years later, Roseanne singing is the only thing most 117 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: people remember from that double header. The details of the games, 118 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: including the fact that the Padres won them, both were 119 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 1: decisively overshadowed by what many considered one of the worst 120 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: singing performances of all time. To be fair, though singing 121 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: the national anthem before a sporting event is never an 122 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: easy gig, even professional singers have buckled under the pressure 123 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: of performing a song that holds such deep significance. For instance, 124 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: legendary singer and jazz pianist nat King Cole forgot the 125 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 1: words to the anthem when he sang it at a 126 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: Dodgers World Series game. The experience was so humbling and 127 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: traumatic that he offered a piece of advice to other 128 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: would be singers. If you do nothing else in your life, 129 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: he said, don't ever sing the national anthem at a 130 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:44,080 Speaker 1: ball game. Roseanne clearly didn't take that advice, and all 131 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: these years later, she remains as defiant as ever. In eighteen, 132 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: she even threw some shade at another anthem singer, saying, quote, 133 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: who saw Fergie's National anthem performance at the NBA All 134 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: Star Game? I think mine was better, flow Keith. Of course, 135 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:05,559 Speaker 1: even if that were true, it isn't exactly a high barb. 136 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,240 Speaker 1: I'm gay, bluesier, and hopefully you now know a little 137 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 138 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: enjoy today's show the except for the singing, consider following 139 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,640 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can find us 140 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 1: at t d i HC. Show. You can also rate 141 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: and review the show on Apple Podcasts, or you can 142 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 1: write to me directly at this day at I heeart 143 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 144 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 145 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in history class.