After Marc Anthony was slammed by racist Twitter users for singing "God Bless America" at Tuesday night's MLB All-Star Game, the musician spoke out in defense of his heritage, saying, "You can't get more New York than me."
Born in New York and raised by Puerto Rican-born parents, Anthony said he is definitely qualified to sing one of America's most patriotic songs.
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"Something happened, I wanted to clarify," the salsa singer, whose album "3.0" drops next week, told Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan Thursday on "Live! With Kelly and Michael." "You know, me singing ['God Bless America'], there was some statements made that people were upset that they would have somebody from another country sing the national anthem. But to set the record straight, I was born and raised in New York. You can't get more New York than me."
Though most of them have since been deleted, here are just a few of the ignorant messages directed at Anthony.
"@jvardaman_50: To be selected to sing God Bless America for the MLB All Star Game shouldn’t you at least be FROM America?"
"@ParkerL5: Why is a Mexican singing 'God Bless America'?? #ASG #CleanItUp"
"@dolso4: Is Marc Anthony going to sing 'God Bless America' in Spanish? #borderproblems"
"@treymcnickle: Letting a Spanish guy sing God Bless America really hurts my heart. Figure it out America #USA"
"@Sonnier6: How they going to pick a got (sic) damn Mexican to sing God Bless AMERICA?"
"@Dusboy7: Another disgrace Marc Anthony singing god bless America. Is he even an American citizen?"
Anthony's fans immediately took to Twitter to counter the racist messages.
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