There are dozens upon dozens of American celebrities who are famous around the globe, so keeping up with all of their physical appearances can be a challenge. Still, that doesn’t make it anymore embarrassing to publicly mistake one for another, especially on national television with millions watching. That said, experienced figure skater Chris Howarth was commentating on Alysa Liu’s performance at the women’s figure skating during the Winter Olympics. He praised her for how she did, but when the camera panned over to Halle Bailey in the cheering audience, he called the The Little Mermaid star by a completely different person’s name: Rihanna.
Needless to say, the two look nothing alike, but in the heat of the moment, when the focus was supposed to be on Alysa Liu’s skating, it is possible to forget the names of a celebrity that might suddenly pop up. However, this is the Olympics we’re talking about, arguably one of the most important central sports events across the world. To make a mistake like that for everyone to see is rather outrageous, and the internet feels like the commentator is worth calling out.
One commenter on Reddit recalled how Samuel Jackson once said something along the lines of, “We don’t all look alike! We may all be black and famous, but we don’t all look alike.” While some might call Chris Howarth “racist” for making such a mistake, it doesn’t necessarily mean it was intentionally malicious. “They look nothing alike that is devious,” argues one user. Someone else claimed the commentator was guilty of a “microaggression.”
One person commented on how Black people can look similar to those who don’t know any people of color in their personal lives. “The amount of times Oprah and Whoopi Goldberg have been confused for each other in Hollywood 😐,” as one person put it. “That’s why people who do this are really calling themselves out,” adds another. After all, the Olympic announcers and camera workers likely were informed of all the VIPs attending and where they’re seated. In other words, there are no excuses for Howarth calling Halle Bailey Rihanna.
As for what the two actresses have been up to recently, Halle Bailey is obviously at the Winter Olympics in Italy and was cheering on figure skaters alongside actor Regé-Jean Page. The two are starring in the upcoming comedy, You, Me & Tuscany. As for Rihanna, she was spotted in New York at A$AP Rocky’s fashion show, a fair distance from the sports events. But commentator Howarth didn’t know that.
