You can watch the moment below:
Clune eventually received a working microphone and performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" without issue, but by then, the moment already belonged to the crowd.
Clune reacted to the moment on X:
Clune is no stranger to high-pressure performances. The Buffalo native is a singer-songwriter known for her dynamic vocals and emotionally driven storytelling, first gaining national recognition as a finalist on The Voice, where she earned a rare four-chair turn and coach block.
She has spent the last decade refining her national anthem performances, a path that led to her becoming the official anthem singer for the Buffalo Sabres two years ago. Clune also performs at Buffalo Bills games and has been singing the anthem since she was 12 years old.
Clune talked about how it all started:
"I've been doing the anthem since I was like 12. It's kind of one of the first things that got me singing for bigger audiences."
Clune performs gigs on weekends, teaches at a theater, and prepares for game nights on her own, handling everything on her own from vocals to hair and makeup.
She said of her routine behind the scenes:
“I gig out on the weekends, sometimes I also teach at a theater, and I just kind of do my makeup and hair and do my practices before and start the game."
Even with years of experience, she approaches the anthem with intention, keeping her rendition close to the original.
She explained how she honors the song:
"I like to keep my rendition pretty close to the original because I like it to be respectful...I do add a couple little things here and there, but it's really mostly just muscle memory at this point."
In addition to her anthem performances, Clune releases original music on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
Moments like Tuesday night don’t happen often. Viewers described the crowd’s reaction as emotional, respectful, and a reminder of how quickly a shared moment can bring people together, especially in a playoff setting where the energy is already high.
The clip sparked a wave of reactions:
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It’s not typical for U.S. teams to perform the Canadian national anthem, but Buffalo has made it part of the experience. KeyBank Center sits roughly five miles from the Canadian border, and the Sabres maintain a strong Canadian fan base, making "O Canada" a staple at home games.
As for the game itself, the night didn’t end with the same storybook energy. David Pastrnak scored at 9:14 of overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 2–1 win in Game 5, keeping the series alive. The Sabres now lead the best-of-seven series 3–2, with Game 6 set for Friday at TD Garden in Boston.
And at the end of it all, he spoke out about how it feels to be an immigrant and part of an American cultural institution in a moment when immigrant communities are under assault by the Trump Administration.
Ding began his comments by saying how often he's been told that his winning streak was bringing people together during dark times.
Ding said:
"I kept hearing how [my run] was bringing people together, and I love that very much. I’ve heard people say, ‘It’s nice to have something positive on TV!’"
"As an immigrant and a person of color, I was able to become part of the history of an American institution."
Ding then noted the extraordinary and difficult timing of his win, given the incessant threat of Trump's brutal and unconstitutional ICE raids on immigrant communities.
"‘Jeopardy!’ really is an institution and America’s turning 250 years old and the federal government is going after immigrants in a way unlike anything that we’ve seen in the recent past."
"So I hope that immigrants can be seen in a positive light too.”
Ding's comments quickly went viral, and conservatives of course immediately began crashing out, screaming at Ding that Trump is only going after "illegals" and criminals, which is completely untrue.
A 2025 investigation uncovered at least 170 legal U.S. citizens who were rounded up and detained in ICE facilities. Many also faced serious physical and human rights abuses. None were accused of crimes, nor were they protestors.
Even in cases where undocumented immigrants or criminals have been rounded up by ICE, they have been dealt with in ways that violate both international law and the U.S. Constitution, and the Trump Administration has several federal court losses to show for it, including one just this week.
So while MAGA was triggered by Ding's comments, those in touch with reality had a very different take on them.
Many applauded Ding on social media for using his big Jeopardy! moment to speak out for the greater good.
All in all it was an affecting and affirming end to a winning streak that has garnered Ding nearly $882,605 in winnings.
Speaking to People, he said it was hard not to want to keep on winning after his astonishing string of wins.
"Part of me is not OK and thinks that it would've been nice to go for more games. But on the other hand, it could have ended much earlier than it did..."
"So I'm both upset and pleased. Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened kind of thing."
Even the contestant who finally beat him April 27, Greg Shahade, had to congratulate him for how he's used his newfound platform.
Hear, hear.
Blaming Democrats, Johnson said:
"They have full-on Trump Derangement Syndrome, OK? And it informs how they see the world and how they react. And how irresponsible they are now is on full display for the whole country."
Johnson continued, saying:
"I hope voters remember this in the fall. You’ve got to keep the grown-ups in charge—and that’s the Republicans."
You can see the moment here:
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In response to Johnson's comments, people across social media were brutal in their mockery of the GOP, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, the phrase Trump Derangement Syndrome, and Johnson himself.
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Even some MAGA minions pushed back.
Despite Republicans' attempts to pin the final funding stalemate about the Department of Homeland Security on Democrats, the bone of contention is the GOP's refusal to approve any funding package for any unfunded agencies unless they get their wish list for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
While the Senate passed multiple partial funding bills (excluding some ICE funding) to fully fund the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, and other unfunded needs at DHS, Johnson's House of Representatives blocked them from passing.
The GOP wants a $70 billion, three-year funding plan for ICE with no reforms in their operations despite mounting court cases ruling their standard practices unconstitutional.
Trump, who turns 80 in June, has tried to deflect since—and on April 27, two days after the shooting, he published a video on Truth Social showing him playing tennis with Williams.
You can see the post below.
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MAGA fans then shared the video on social media, marveling at what they perceived to be evidence of the president's relentless stamina.
But the video is more than a decade old.
Footage of Trump playing against Williams was taken by news outlets on April 7, 2015, to mark the opening of a Trump-backed tennis facility at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.
At the time, according to one CBS affiliate, Trump said:
"It is an honor to have the incredible Serena Williams join us today to officially open this magnificent building — she is a true champion and is the greatest of all time."
Williams, in response, said:
"This doesn't look like your average tennis facility, and I've been in a lot of tennis facilities. This one is the best one I've ever seen."
The match took place several months before Trump launched his 2016 presidential campaign. The following year, The Associated Press reported that Williams, a Jehovah's Witness who cited her religion, would not be endorsing or voting for Trump, nor any other candidate.
Others criticized Trump for posting the misleading video.
Sorry, Trump—you're not fooling the rest of us so easily.
