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Rufus Wainwright Flubs Bilingual O Canada Before World Series Game 5

The slip-ups drew swift online criticism from Toronto fans after an earlier anthem dispute in the series heightened scrutiny.

Overview

  • Wainwright performed O Canada at Dodger Stadium before Game 5 and stumbled over lyrics in both English and French.
  • He sang “that only us can command” instead of the correct “in all of us command” during the English verse.
  • Observers noted multiple mistakes in the French portion of the anthem during the bilingual rendition.
  • Blue Jays supporters criticized the performance across social media, while some commentators urged leniency given the difficulty of a two-language delivery.
  • The incident followed backlash to J. P. Saxe’s altered lyrics before Game 3, reinforcing attention on anthem renderings during the series.