Ingrid Andress says she felt like 'America's punching bag' after drunk national anthem performance
Country music singer-songwriter Ingrid Andress broke her silence for the first time on Thursday, nearly a year after she admitted herself to rehab following her admission that she had been "drunk" during her controversial national anthem performance at the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby.
Andress, 33, appeared on "The Viall Files" podcast this week to discuss the fallout from her performance and what transpired just before she took the field at Globe Life Field in Arlington in mid-July.
"That day started as a very – what seemed like a normal day," Andress recalled. "At that point, like that day, I knew that I was drinking, but I was really loving the numbing feeling that I was having, and so I just didn't stop."
The four-time Grammy nominee explained that a recent split with her first manager and a breakup had prompted her to begin drinking excessively in the months leading up to her performance. She admitted that in her state at the time, she had been unaware of the crowd and fan reaction at home and had believed that she had "kind of nailed it."
"It wasn't until I woke up the next day where I was like 'OK, this is so unlike me. This is not OK. I need help,'" Andress said. "I didn't realize how much the video was going viral, because I had never experienced anything like that."
Andress later admitted in a statement she shared on social media that she had been "drunk" while singing the national anthem. She said on Thursday that she had shared the statement while on plane to rehab.
"I'm not gonna bulls--- y'all, I was drunk last night," her statement read. "I'm checking myself into a facility today to get the help I need. That was not me last night. I apologize to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition. I'll let y'all know how rehab is, I hear it's super fun."
Andress said on Thursday that she had received an overwhelming amount of hatred and felt like "America's punching bag." She joked that because of the political climate at the time, she took some solace in knowing that she could at least unify people on one thing.
"I will say, at the time, politics was really bubbling, and I just feel like there was a lot of angst in general during that time. So, if anything, I feel like – I'm fine with being America's punching bag, because for one moment, everybody was united in the fact that that was awful. So I feel like I united America in a way."
Last month, Andress had the opportunity to redeem herself and performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at an NHL game in Colorado. She also released a new single earlier this week.
She said on Thursday that after her stint in rehab and time with her family at home in Colorado, she felt ready to return.
"I spent a lot of time with family, and then I was like, 'I think it's time to re-emerge.'"
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