“All lives matter” is a phrase used by critics of the Black Lives Matter anti-police brutality movement, who claim the movement promotes bias against other groups including white Americans and law enforcement.
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It appears his days with the group may be numbered, with one member suggesting he will not return.
Before making worldwide headlines for altering the O Canada lyrics to include the controversial statement “all lives matter”, social media followers of Remigio Pereira were well aware of his outspoken opinions.
“I do feel sorry for the rest of the Tenors”, said Cherry.
Hudson said the controversy doesn’t obscure the message of Black Lives Matter and the impact of the altered lyrics, although negative, is minimal.
According to ESPN, the British Columbia-based group, The Tenors caused a stir when member Remigio Pereira broke ranks while singing, “O’ Canada”.
“(Pereira may have been) truly naive and did not under the gravity of what he was saying”, Bryan said.
The change happened during the middle portion of the anthem, which is often sung in French at sporting events. I weep for the senseless loss of life, the lives of all my brothers and sisters in this world. “All lives matter to the great”.
The verse he was supposed to sing went: “With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the True North strong and free”. One member of the group held up a handwritten All Lives Matter sign during the performance.
“It has been perceived to use reductive reasoning to trivialize the problems specifically facing black people”, the CBC notes. Do all lives really matter when the police can kill black people with impunity?
“I don’t agree with black people dying”.
That Pereira doesn’t understand what he did wrong isn’t surprising.
‘WTF were they thinking?’ wrote @BrendonONeill.
“Nice of you guys to alter your national anthem lyrics to piss off your country & take a political stance to piss off another, @TenorsMusic”, one tweeter posted.
“Every decision we make is a group decision”, the (perhaps former) member of the singing quartet said. As a result of the misstep, Pereira will not be performing with the group until further notice.
Watch cringe-worthy footage of the performance in question (and the other Tenors’ reactions) below [via CBC].
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Major League Baseball says it was also unaware of Pereira’s intention to change the song.
