NBC appeared to mistakingly identify a young Sesame Street actor as Broadway icon Lea Salonga during its live broadcast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
During the network’s annual holiday event on Thursday, co-anchors Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie introduced Sesame Street’s float, where Tony Award-winning actor Lea Salonga was performing alongside the cast of the PBS staple.
However, when the cameras panned to the side of the float where young child actor Olivia Perez was singing and dancing a title card for Salonga appeared.
Salonga, 53, was later shown singing at the front of the float with the correct title card identifying her.
Several viewers have since responded to the telecast’s flub, making light of the situation. “Oh god. Lea Salonga took The Substance,” one person tweeted in reference to Demi Moore’s latest sci-fi thriller, which sees her character inject herself with a substance to youthify herself.
“Do… do they think this is Lea Salonga?!” a second asked in disbelief, while a third wrote: “Someone tell the cameraman that that little girl isn’t Lea Salonga.”
“Cannot get over NBC disrespecting Lea Salonga by mislabeling some random other person on the float as her,” another added.
The Independent has contacted NBC for comment.
Salonga is best known for her Tony-winning portrayal of Kim in Broadway’s 1991 production of Miss Saigon. The Filipino actor previously originated the role of Kim in West End’s production in 1989, for which she earned an Olivier Award.
She became the first Asian actor to star as Eponine in Les Misérables on Broadway in 1993. She later returned for the 2006 revival in the role of Fantine.
Salonga’s gone on to portray lead characters in other musicals, including Grizabella in the 2010 Phillippines tour of Cats and Aurora Aquino in Broadway’s 2023 run of Here Lies Love.
This year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which was backdropped by rainy weather, featured several other performances from the likes of Australian pop star Kylie Minogue, country star Dasha, indie-pop artist Bishop Briggs and rapper T-Pain.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Hudson closed out the event by ringing in the holiday season with performances of “Jingle Bells,” “Let There Be Joy” and “The Gift of Love” from her debut Christmas album.
