Kelly Clarkson & Peyton Manning Blasted Over Olympics Opening Ceremony Coverage

Dan Clarendon
5 Comments
Kelly Clarkson, Mike Tirico, and Peyton Manning hosting the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony
NBC Olympics/X

Instead of having, say, two former Olympians join sportscaster Mike Terico as commentators for the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Paris, NBC enlisted Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning.

Clarkson, of course, is a pop superstar and a seasoned TV host, but she isn’t known for sportscasting. And Manning is a retired NFL star and a two-time Super Bowl champ, but he has never competed in the Olympic Games and has little emceeing experience.

Viewers weren’t thrilled with either star’s job during the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26.

“NBC is doing a great job of dumbing the #OpeningCeremony down,” X user @tfinferno86 wrote. “Peyton Manning and Kelly Clarkson?! WTF?”

@KevinKaduk said, “I don’t know who thought putting Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning on an Olympics broadcast would be good television. Neither person seems to know why they’re there either.”

And @liprap wrote, “This attempt to make Peyton Manning and Kelly Clarkson the summer Olympic version of Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski is falling flat.”

 

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A post shared by Peyton Manning (@peytonmanning)

USA Today reporter Chris Bumbaca also criticized the Clarkson and Manning, saying they were “distracting at best and brutal to listen to at worst.”

Bumbaca added: “Olympics fans watching at home aren’t tuning in to hear a talk-show host (Clarkson) and football analyst (Manning) discuss things outside of their spheres of influence. They want substantive information about the countries and international athletes’ stories.”

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Both Clarkson and Manning and in-house talent for NBCUniversal: She hosts The Kelly Clarkson Show, which is produced by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, and he hosts the Capital One College Bowl on NBC.

NBC Olympics producers expected Clarkson to provide human-interest stories, while Manning planned to provide insight into the minds of athletes during high-level competitions, as Variety reported in March, when the duo’s hosting gig was announced.

But they fell short of those ambitions, according to some spectators watching from home. “The cool thing about this Olympic opening ceremony,” X user @PapaBearsTweets wrote, “is how Peyton Manning and Kelly Clarkson apparently did no preparation.”

Summer OlympicsSummer Olympics: Opening CeremonyKelly ClarksonPeyton Manning



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  1. R

    Reader

    Clarkson and Manning were awful. They do the same thing to the Macy's Parade every Thanksgiving. The parade goes by while some d-list star talks about their newest project or which side dishes they're going to eat with their turkey this year.

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  2. R

    Reader

    Kelly struck me as being brought in as "the fan" on the panel. And where is it written you have to have been in the Olympics to broadcast a parade?That being said, I'd rather have seen ALL the countries get mentioned, with their population/# of athletes/fun facts than constant cutaways where 10 more go by without acknowledgement. Mike Tirico (who I like) instead said "yeah we're not doing that this time."But the ceremonies overall came across more like the final edit of a movie than the usual "live pageantry" we expect from the opening.

    4

    1. J

      Jena

      I agree, I wanted to see the actual athletic teams... some countries with 100+ athletes, others with just a handful. Or even just 2 or 3. They all deserve to be seen equally, and be cheered and welcomed by 10s of thousands of assembled fans. That didn't happen, and I'm sorry about that. ... I'm also sorry that the Olympic 'cauldron' is simply an electrified balloon, which looks more like a State Fair attraction than an Olympic feature.

      1

  3. R

    Reader

    I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt-at first. After the second, 'aw shucks' type moment, it was downhill from there. The ONLY saving grace was Celine Dion.And just a question: What is up with the interviewers waiting until the athletes complete the best event of their life-only to step right off the mat and have a microphone stuck in their face? And don't get me started about the intrusive camera guys zeroing in on private conversations and personal moments between family members. How about some personal space for cryin out loud.

  4. R

    Reader

    Who is jealous of Clarkson and Manning? I like the fresh comments!

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