Days after causing an uproar by injecting the phrase “all lives matter” in a performance of “O Canada” at the MLB All-Star Game in San Diego on Tuesday, singer Remigio Pereira has issued an apology.
In a video posted to his Facebook page Friday, Pereira — who was suspended from Canadian singing group The Tenors following the performance, said: “I want to apologize for changing the Canadian national anthem. I know that the anthem is very revered … and in no shape or form was I intending to disrespect it.”
During the performance of “O Canada” at the All-Star Game, the lyrics were altered to, “We’re all brothers and sisters. All lives matter to the great.”
The phrase “all lives matter” is seen by many as backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement, though Pereira denied in his apology that he’s prejudiced.
“I would like to say by no means am I racist,” the singer said. “I have a biracial daughter, I grew up in a multicultural environment where my best friend was black.”
Following the performance, The Tenors announced that they were “shocked and embarrassed” by Pereira’s alteration of the tune, and that the singer “will not be performing with The Tenors until further notice,”
Pereira later sought to clarify his intentions, tweeting, “I speak for the human race and the lives of all sentient beings. Love, peace and harmony for ALL has always been my life’s purpose.I’ve been so moved lately by the tragic loss of life and I hoped for a positive statement that would bring us ALL together. ONE LOVE. That was my singular motivation when I said all lives matter.”
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Katharine Hepburn in "Dragon Seed" (1944) Caucasian Hepburn played a Chinese woman in this big-screen adaptation of the Pearl S. Buck novel.
MGM
Marlon Brando in "The Teahouse of the August Moon" (1956) Brando starred as an Okinawan translator for the U.S. Army in this comedy about the American occupation of the island nation.
MGM
John Wayne in "Conquerer" (1956) Wayne was cast as Mongol conquerer Genghis Khan in what's considered by many to be one of the worst films of all time.
RKO Radio Pictures
Charlton Heston in "Touch of Evil" (1958) Heston starred as Ramon Miguel Vargas in the 1958 crime film, a Mexican narcotics officer.
Universal
Mickey Rooney in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961) More caricature than character, Rooney starred as the buck-toothed, Japanese Mr. Yunioshi in the 1961 film, which has faced volumes of criticism since.
Paramount Pictures
Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" (1961) Wood plays a Puerto Rican teenager in the 1961 musical film, although she was Russian-American in real life.
United Artists
Laurence Olivier in "Othello" (1965) Not only did the white actor play a Moor in 1965's "Othello," he did so while wearing blackface.
Warner Bros.
Al Pacino in "Scarface" (1983) Pacino plays a Cuban gangster in the 1983 film, and many criticized his over-the-top accent as offensive.
Universal
Anthony Hopkins in "Mask of Zorro" (1998) Welsh actor Hopkins starred as the Spanish Zorro, a.k.a. Don Diego de la Vega, in the 1998 film.
Tristar
Rob Schneider in "50 First Dates" (2004) Schneider seems to play a different ethnicity in every Adam Sandler movie. In "The Waterboy" he was the "You can do it!" guy, in "Big Daddy," he was a Middle-Eastern deliveryman, and in "50 First Dates," he plays a native Hawaiian. Badly.
Columbia Pictures
Mike Myers in "The Love Guru" (2008) Myers played an Indian-American guru in the roundly panned movie, in which he dressed up a lot of racist jokes in a terrible accent.
Every character from "21" (2008) The movie follows a group of math students who come up with a card counting strategy to win big in Vegas. While the movie had a predominantly white cast, the real life MIT students were all Asian-American.
Sony
Jake Gyllenhaal in "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010) Gyllenhaal plays a Middle-Eastern prince in the film, which many called "insulting" and "the perfect example of whitewashing."
Johnny Depp in "Lone Ranger" (2013) Like Mara, Johnny Depp played a Native American in Disney's film, which sparked outrage among fans and critics despite the actor's claims that his great-grandmother had mostly Cherokee blood.
Emma Stone in "Aloha" (2015) Stone played a Chinese/Swedish/Hawaiian woman in this critically and commercially disappointing Cameron Crowe romantic comedy.