Every National Anthem Performance in Sports History, Ranked

Roseanne Barr took the field at a San Diego Padres game and delivered the anthem in a deliberately screeching, mocking tone, finishing by grabbing her crotch and spitting. It wasn’t a vocal misfire — it was intentional provocation, framed as comedy.

The reaction was instant outrage. Fans booed, politicians condemned it, and President George H. W. Bush called it disgraceful. The Padres beat the Reds that day, but the score was irrelevant. Roseanne’s anthem became a permanent cultural punchline.