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Sadly, racially-charged Twitter rants are becoming the norm these days.

One of the most recent victims is 11-year-old Sebastien De La Cruz, who sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” during Game 3 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio.

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The former “America’s Got Talent” contestant was asked to step in after country star Darius Rucker cancelled, but instead of congratulating Sebastien on one of the best moments of his life, some twitter users responded with comments like: “There should be an AMERICAN singing the national anthem not this illegal” and “No disrespect but a Mexican kid signing [sic] the national anthem makes it unamerican. #nothappy #americansforamerica.”

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The Twitterverse not only attacked the young singer’s Mexican-American heritage — he was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas — but also his choice to wear a mariachi costume during the performance.

However the haters had no effect on “Little Mariachi,” as he’s affectionally known in his hometown.

“I knew that one day when I sing that people were going to judge me,” he said in an interview with Fox San Antonio. “That’s why over the time I’ve grown, I’ve learned that you don’t really care what people say about you, it’s what you think about yourself.”

“I’m a proud American and I live in a free country,” he added. “It’s not hurting me. It’s just your opinion.”

Check out his full performance below.

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