Tenor Who Sang ‘All Lives Matter’ During Canadian National Anthem At All-Star Game Suspended

A Canadian singer has been suspended from an operatic quartet after he changed the lyrics to his country’s anthem and held up a sign reading ‘All Lives Matter’ during a pre-game performance at Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star Game.

Tenor Who Sang ‘All Lives Matter’ During Canadian National Anthem At All-Star Game Suspended

The singer, later identified as Remigio Pereira by the rest of the group, and his three fellow Tenors were singing ‘O Canada’ at San Diego’s Petco Park when he made a controversial statement that outraged supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The other members of The Tenors apologized and distanced themselves from Pereira, calling him a ‘lone wolf’ and announcing he will not be performing with them ‘until further notice’.

Per The Score, Pereira replaced the lyric “with glowing hearts we see thee rise/the True North strong and free” with “we’re all brothers and sisters/all lives matter to the brave.”

‘I don’t think we can see ourselves performing with Remigio again,’ said group member Fraser Walters in an interview with CBC News.

Walters said he was sorry the anthem was ‘compromised’ and insisted Pereira took it upon himself to ‘take a political stand.’ He and the rest of the group said Pereira made the change without their knowledge.

The back of Pereira’s sign read “United We Stand.” The change happened during the middle portion of the anthem, which is frequently performed in French at sporting events.

Video of the incident shows the other three members wordlessly harmonizing the anthem as Pereira sings the altered lyrics.

The group issued an apology on Twitter later in the evening:

“The Tenors are deeply sorry for the disrespectful and misguided lack of judgment by one member of the group acting as a “lone wolf” today during the singing of the Canadian national anthem at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Diego.

The other members of the group are shocked and embarrassed by the actions of Remigio Pereira, who changed the lyrics of our treasured anthem and used this coveted platform to serve his own political views.

Our sincere apologies and regrets go out to everybody who witnessed this shameful act, to our fellow Canadians, to Major League Baseball, to our friends, families, fans and to all those affected.

The actions of one member of this group were extremely selfish, and he will not be performing with The Tenors until further notice.”

The phrase ‘All Lives Matter’ has become a common online response in recent months to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, particularly after the fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile last week.

The phrase has received heavy criticism from people who claim it serves to undermine the specific struggles faced by black people.

Pereira, who was born in Boston and raised in Ottawa, said in a statement on Facebook that he wasn’t attempting to subdue Black Lives Matter.

‘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,’ he wrote. ‘ONE LOVE. That was my singular motivation when I said all lives matter. I am disturbed that people would attribute anything other than the purist of intentions to my actions.’

He was also met with criticism and ridicule for previous Facebook posts which supported the conspiracy theory that the Earth is flat. The posts have since been deleted.

Many fans at Petco Park reacted with surprise at the lyric change and sign held up by Pereira.

While the Canadian anthem wasn’t shown live on US television it did air in Canada, where social media immediately blew up with harsh criticism of the change.

SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 12: The Tenors, musicians based in British Columbia, perform ‘O Canada’ prior to the 87th Annual MLB All-Star Game at PETCO Park on July 12, 2016 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)