An R&B singer destroyed the national anthem Sunday at the New Orleans’ “Essence Festival,” turning the song honoring our nation into an angry rant about how awful it is.
Written by poet Francis Scott Key in 1814 to celebrate the United States’ victory over British forces in the War of 1812, the Star Spangled Banner went on to be adopted as our national anthem and has become a symbol of love and hope. Not to Jill Scott, though, who turned the inspirational lyrics into a hateful diatribe.
She raged into the microphone in overwrought, drawn-out verses, intending to come across as passionate but mostly appearing as if she had a really bad stomach ache:
Oh say, can you see, by the blood in the streets
That this place doesn’t smile on you, colored child
Whose blood built this land
With sweat and their hands
But you’ll die in this place, and your memory erased
Oh say does this truth hold any weight
This is not the land of the free
But the home of the slaves
I would like to point out to Ms. Scott that America is not, in fact, the home of the slaves, as the practice was abolished in 1865—one hundred fifty-eight years ago.
Watch, if you can stand it:
R&B singer Jill Scott (@missjillscott) did a WOKE rendition of the National Anthem where she changed the lyrics to speak about how oppressed Black people are.
She says “This is not the land of the free, but the home of the slave…”
For reference, Jill Scott’s net worth is… pic.twitter.com/0dX40I2A8N
— Lavern Spicer 🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) July 5, 2023
I noticed that the user who posted the above tweet said Jill Scott was worth $12 million, so I looked it up, and according to “Celebrity Net Worth” that is indeed true. Poor Jill Scott sounds very oppressed.
This is not the first time she’s sung the song with these lyrics, but it was her most high-profile performance. The annual Essence Festival, sponsored by lifestyle magazine Essence, takes place over the Fourth of July weekend and is one of the country’s largest African-American music events. They were very proud of Scott’s divisive message, tweeting:
Everyone please rise for the only National Anthem we will be recognizing from this day forward.
Jill Scott, we thank you! #ESSENCEFest
Guess they hate America too.
The Los Angeles Times has a whole piece on the origins of the lyrics during Scott’s teenage years, but I frankly don’t care, so I’m not going to read it.
Political strategist and radio host Joey Mannarino wrote on Twitter:
I love Jill Scott. She is the pride of Philadelphia and an icon. This is so heartbreaking for me to see. I could name you every song she’s ever done.
This might be a bridge too far for me though. So sad to see her go this route. She is so talented. She doesn’t need to go this route.
Podcaster Jason Whitlock was more pointed; he was just plain disgusted:
Jill Scott’s national anthem, as performed at the Essence Festival:
“Oh, say can you see, by the blood in the streets. This place doesn’t smile on you, colored child. Whose blood built this land with sweat and their hands. But we’ll die in this place and your memory erased. Oh,…
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) July 5, 2023
He wrote:
The safest, most opportunity-rich place on the planet for black people is the United States of America.
From the three Marxist lesbians who started BLM to Jill Scott, the black matriarchy keeps writing bad checks. Turned bitching and grifting into an art form.
I just don’t see how dividing our country like this is constructive. Claiming that America is “the home of the slaves” is just plain false. This version trashes a symbol that many hold dear to their hearts and is a middle finger to millions and millions of Americans.
This version of the national anthem helps nobody, improves no one’s life, heals no hearts, and brings no people closer together. Instead, it’s meant to divide the races, a shameful goal.
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