Sheryl Lee Ralph Responds to Lip-Sync Rumors After Super Bowl Performance of 'Lift Every Voice and Sing'

etonline.com:

Sheryl Lee Ralph wowed viewers on Sunday during the Super Bowl LVII pre-game show when she gave a rousing rendition of «Lift Every Voice and Sing,» a hymn that is often referred to as the Black National Anthem.

The 66-year-old star surprised many fans with her vocal abilities, belting out the moving song while wearing a bold red-and-black Harbison Studio jumpsuit with an attached train.

Ralph teased the moment on Instagram prior to stepping out onto the field at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. «It is no coincidence that I will be singing the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing at the Super Bowl on the same date it was first publicly performed 123 years ago (February 12, 1900),» she shared. «Happy Black History Month!»Despite being praised for her performance, Ralph also became the subject of online speculation that she had actually lip-synced the song for the broadcast.

When asked about it by, Ralph replied, “Does it matter? Does it matter? No. Thank you.”Ralph, who received a Tony nomination for her role as Deena Jones in the Broadway production of in 1983, told ET's Kevin Frazier that she was thrilled to be chosen for the historic performance. «I thought what a wonderful honor it is for me to be here singing this song inside the arena with the NFL, making a huge gesture for diversity, inclusion, and the end of so many of these isms that people want to keep alive to divide us,» she told ET. «They wanted to create a moment that brought us all together and I believe that's exactly what they did.