Press secretary Carney: No discussion with Obama over Beyoncé lip-sync flap

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday he had not discussed with President Obama the controversy over whether singer Beyoncé lip-synched the national anthem at Monday's inaugural ceremony. 

"I have not had that discussion with him," Carey said at the White House press briefing, adding that he did not know whether the singer had performed live.

Carney said he had mostly heard about the controversy from media reports, which have been inconclusive on the subject. The U.S. Marine Corps Band said in a statement that their musical accompaniment at Monday's ceremony was pre-recorded but did not say whether Beyoncé's performance was live.

"I'm not sure that I understand the variety of contradictory reports on the issue," Carney said.

As reporters pressed him on the issue, the press secretary chided the media for the focus on the performance.

"I'm glad you guys are focused on the important issues of the day here," Carney said.

He also said that while he had no knowledge of whether this performance was live, in previous years artists had relied on prerecorded tracks because of extreme temperatures.

"As powerful as this office is, we don't control the weather," Carney said.

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