NBC mistakenly identifies ‘Sesame Street’ star as Lea Salonga during Thanksgiving parade performance

Despite all the rain pouring down on attendees in New York City, the first major slip-up of the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade wasn’t due to an influx of water, as NBC’s broadcast of the event mistakenly identified a child actress as Broadway legend Lea Salonga.

Shortly after telecast cohosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb introduced Salonga’s mid-parade performance of “Sing” alongside the cast of Sesame Street, the camera cut to the stars atop a giant float themed to the children’s TV show.

When the footage turned to Sesame Street cast member Olivia Perez, NBC flashed a title card that read “Lea Salonga,” though Salonga — a Tony-winning actress known for her roles on stage — was not in the shot.

Salonga, 53, was eventually shown singing at the front of the float, with the title card returning to properly identify her.

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to NBC representatives for comment.

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On stage, Salonga has played a varied roster of characters throughout her career, including in productions of Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Cats, and Here Lies Love. She also provided the singing voice for the titular character in Disney’s beloved animated feature Mulan.

This year’s parade flub comes one year after the broadcast endured a glitch during Cher’s televised performance of her new holiday single “DJ Play a Christmas Song,” where a Christmas-colored visual disruption temporarily interrupted the show.