Last night, Ciara sang the national anthem to kick off the College Football Playoff Championship, but it wasn’t her voice that caused people to talk, rather her dress.
Bonnie Bernstein of Campus Insiders wasn’t too pleased about how low Ciara’s dress dipped. “Dear Ciara. You’re stunning. But this is a National Championship Game. Kids are watching. Cover up,” she tweeted.
And oh, the Twitter clap back came back HARD!
"@BonnieBernstein Dear Ciara,You're stunning,but this is a National Championship Game Kids are watching. Cover up." pic.twitter.com/VvWHRKRBDh
— Our Season's Over (@FlowsAndolini) January 12, 2016
@JesseKenn tweeted, “@BonnieBernstein How dare she partially reveal her body when children are preparing to watch 21-year olds destroy each other for no money!”
@SdotMeesh said, “Kids can walk through Wal-Mart and see more cleavage than Ciara showed.”
@XNLB wrote, “How dare Ciara wear a completely appropriate dress while children watch grown men violently attack one another for sport @BonnieBernstein.”
Some criticism was focused on race: it seems that the short-short skirts and midriff- baring tops on the mostly-white cheerleaders wasn’t an issue, and many people brought that to her attention.
RT @BonnieBernstein Dear Ciara. You're stunning. this is a National Championship Game. Kids are watching. Cover up. pic.twitter.com/0vHbrxZDDY
— kate boss. (@FUCCl) January 12, 2016
@BSO tweeted, “I am totally confused by that Bonnie Bernstein tweet, they show the cheerleader 100 times a game lol. Ciara can't wear evening gown?”
And @SprtsChttr tweeted, “Bonnie Bernstein didn't like what Ciara was wearing, but cheerleaders wear more scandalous outfits at every game.”
After all the clap backs, Bernstein eventually addressed those who criticized her comments, tweeting. “Truly am amazed at how people take a tweet (that includes a compliment!) & wanna make it about race. Seriously. Grow up. Watch the game.”
But it wasn’t an issue until you….nevermind.
While I think Ciara was dressed VERY formal for the event at hand, she looked great! And to say she was showing too much while dozens of women are present wearing much less is ridiculous. I do think "dress gate" diverted attention from Ciara’s vocals, which always are debated when it comes to her singing the Star Spangled Banner.
Anyway, if you missed it, check out Ciara’s performance below: