Anthem Singer Stares Down Heckler After She's Interrupted at Knicks Game — and Has Karl-Anthony Towns' Support!
The singer, who goes by Liceli, briefly stopped her performance, smiled and then picked up where she left off
The singer, who goes by Liceli, briefly stopped her performance, smiled and then picked up where she left off Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty; New York Basketball/X:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/karl-anthony-towns-liceli-120624-1aa-ae29230c2ec9460f890a6b3a15d34b60.jpg "Karl Anthony-Towns #32 of the New York Knicks poses for a portrait during at The New York Knicks Training Center ; KAT and the Garden had her back & she crushed it Liceli")
New York Knicks fans — and star Karl-Anthony Towns — are cheering on the national anthem singer who pushed back after her rendition was briefly interrupted by a heckler on Thursday night.
The moment happened at the beginning of the song, as the singer, who goes by Liceli and was wearing a Miles “Deuce” McBride jersey, went to hit a high note, and then stopped singing and turned around to seemingly quiet someone in the stands on Thursday, Dec. 5.
She briefly smiled and continued her performance. Meanwhile, the camera cut to the Knicks' new big man, who grinned in an encouraging way.
“KAT and the Garden had her back & she crushed it,” the Knicks posted on X following the game, in which the home team trounced the Charlotte Hornets, 125-101.
KAT and the Garden had her back & she crushed it https://t.co/EIlCAE0VZn pic.twitter.com/pCD8WsF8tq— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) December 6, 2024
The notoriously challenging-to-sing song has made for slam-dunks and airballs in recent NBA lore.
Related: Macy Gray's NBA All-Star Game National Anthem Draws Viral Reactions from LeBron James, Bill Murray
Last year, Public Enemy founding member Flavor Flav tackled the anthem, surprising fans and others with a memorable a cappella rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner.”
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But the Swiftie and U.S. women’s water polo supporter’s performance provided unintentional fodder when his vocal stylings had some scratching their heads.
Related: Knicks Star (and Possible All-Star) Jalen Brunson Has One Thing on His Mind: 'Win' (Exclusive)
"It may seem odd for Flavor Flav, a member of Public Enemy to do the National Anthem,” Flav wrote on X afterwards. “But I had family that served in the United States military and I wanted to honor them.”
