What do some MLB and NBA fans have in common? Well, it seems like it’s a general intolerance for Hispanics singing national songs.
Just over a month after Texas’ Sebastien de la Cruz received a slew of racist tweets for performing the National Anthem at game three of the NBA Finals, Grammy-winner Marc Anthony withstood his own downpour of xenophobic Twitter remarks after singing “God Bless America” at the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday.
The “Public Shaming” Tumblr site gathered several tweets in which baseball fans called choosing the 44-year-old star to sing “unAmerican” and some even used racial slurs and referred to the singer as “a Mexican.”
Marc Anthony singing God Bless America on the MLB Allstar Game..........am I the only person that finds that unAmerican
— Jerrell Rock Golden (@SirRock1001) July 17, 2013
Why is a Mexican, Marc Anthony, singing god bless America? Doesn't he know this is AMERICA's song? #ASG
— BitLocker (@BlurNulled) July 17, 2013
Other fans quickly tweeted defending Anthony and clarifying that not only is the artist of Puerto Rican descent but he was born and raised in the United States.
On Thursday, Anthony stopped by “LIVE with Kelly and Michael” to promote his upcoming world tour “Vivir Mi Vida.” During the interview, the singer himself brought up what he called the “trending topic” and addressed the tweets.
“You know, something happened that I really wanted to mention, and I wanted to clarify... you know, me singing the national anthem, there were some statements made that people were upset that they would have somebody from another country sing the national anthem,” Anthony told hosts Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan. “ But to set the record straight, I was born and raised in New York, you can't get more New York than me.”
The star added that he was also “more Puerto Rican than ever” before receiving cheers and applause from the audience.
The MLB All-Star festivities were laced with a similar xenophobic atmosphere on Monday after Cuban-born Yoenis Céspedes followed his victory at the Home Run Derby with an interview in Spanish.
Check out a video of Marc Anthony’s performance above and more Twitter reactions to the performance below.