Country singer Alexis Wilkins’ rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” hit an unexpected snag when audio issues disrupted her performance at a Brussels Freedom 250 event.
Wilkins, who is dating FBI Director Kash Patel, took the stage Sunday to perform the national anthem at the U.S. Embassy’s Independence Day celebration in Brussels ahead of the United States’ 250th birthday.
Her performance was briefly derailed when a technical glitch cut out her microphone, forcing her to restart the national anthem. Footage recorded by Politico reporter Gerardo Fortuna showed Wilkins continuing her performance as thousands of spectators looked on.
Wilkins also performed at the Freedom 250 opening ceremony on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., last week after country singer Martina McBride and other headliners for the Great American State Fair withdrew from the lineup.
McBride withdrew her performance, saying she was misled about the nature of the event. “I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” McBride said in a post on X.
Shortly after, Wilkins announced the news of her performance on X, saying, “What a great honor to be a part of the 250th birthday of this great nation.”
Wilkins has not publicly responded to her recent microphone glitch in Brussels. However, she did push back against social media critics and allegations of ethics violations related to her performance at the Freedom 250 event.
“I’m no longer accepting false narratives and total sham accusations that diminish my hard work and earned accomplishments, so please expect this kind of response to continue,” she said in a post on X.
The Brussels event was the only one of its kind held in Europe, with the three U.S. embassies in Brussels coming together to host the show.