Why Carrie Underwood Did Not Debut New Face At The Super Bowl
Carrie Underwood confirmed in late 2017 that she had 40 to 50 stiches in her face after suffering a nasty fall on some steps outside her home in Tennessee. However, despite some fans accusing the star of “exaggerating” her injuries after seeing her looking flawless in a new Super Bowl video, Carrie is actually still yet to officially unveil her post-injury face to the world.
Many fans were left a little confused about Underwood’s appearance on social media after she opened NBC’s coverage of Super Bowl LII on February 4 with a pre-recorded video showcasing her song with Ludacris, “The Champion,” noting that she looked exactly the same as she did before the accident.
“I’m confused about Carrie Underwood,” one Super Bowl watcher tweeted after seeing Carrie open the show with the pre-taped video as others urged the seven-time Grammy winner to take on the 2019 halftime show next year. “Didn’t she just get like 50 stitches in her face? How does she look exactly the same?”
“Wtf, are we sure @carrieunderwood got 40-50 stitches on her face???” asked another on the social media site. “Carrie Underwood gets stitches and she looks absolutely fine. How.”
“Wondering if that was pre-recorded in early November? Otherwise Carrie Underwood greatly exaggerated the extent of her facial injuries…. Face looked the same,” another said of the star on social media, while a fourth wrote, “All the drama about your horrible disfigured face, no signs of it. Sounds like a snowflake, must be a snowflake! @carrieunderwood.”
I thought Carrie Underwood was gonna have a new face?! pic.twitter.com/yJWVI5zfV6
— Amanda Granit #teamHCSO (@AmandaGranit) February 4, 2018
Hollywood Life also speculated about the star’s appearance in the opening video, asking if the clip was giving the world a “first look at her new face” after it aired on February 4.
However, the clip was actually filmed before the “Blown Away” singer took a tumble on some outdoor steps last year, which is why the mom had no visible injuries on her face and a healthy right wrist, as she broke it in the fall.
Although it’s not clear exactly when Carrie filmed the Super Bowl opener, it was confirmed as early as September that the star had written “The Champion” specifically for the sporting event and would be appearing in a special opening video before the big game.
.@carrieunderwood kicks us off on the biggest Sunday Night of them all.
Watch the #SuperBowl now on NBC or stream: https://t.co/Q1JrUmZiy2 pic.twitter.com/Awxc9zikfF
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) February 4, 2018
Speaking to Variety in September, two months before Underwood’s injury, Sunday Night Football executive producer Fred Gaudelli confirmed the star’s song and video, telling the outlet at the time that it would be bigger than any previous opening segments.
“You have to try to find new ways to tell a very similar story,” he said.
Carrie confirmed that the song was finished and awaiting release, suggesting that the video had likely already been filmed.
E! News also confirmed that the opening segment was filmed before Underwood unfortunately had to undergo surgery to get 40 to 50 stitches to her face, while the star notably shared a selfie from the set of her Sunday Night Football shoot back in June 2017.
“Shooting the new @snfonnbc open! Lots of fun today!” Carrie captioned a selfie posted to her Instagram page that showed her backstage while on set on June 28. “This will be our best one yet! Can’t wait for you all to see it!”
Though she didn’t confirm at the time that she was also filming for the Super Bowl, it’s possible that both segments were recorded at the same time in the summer while the star was in Los Angeles.
Underwood is only confirmed to have been photographed once since her accident. Below Deck reality star Adrienne Gang took to Twitter on December 12 to post a photo of herself and the mom of one after seeing her working out at a local gym.
