International- Rebecca Black has told the story of accidentally endorsing Enrique Peña Nieto.
- In a TikTok, Black said she flew to Mexico thinking she was attending a meet and greet with fans.
Rebecca Black has set the record straight regarding her appearance at a press conference for Enrique Peña Nieto ten years ago. Black, a popstar and influencer best known for her perennial, viral hit "Friday" that was released on YouTube in 2011, was seen supposedly endorsing Peña Nieto in May 2012 saying the candidate, who would become Mexico's president that December for six years, was "going to do a fantastic job."
But in a TikTok posted on Sunday, to Black's 942,000 followers, Black told her side of the story using a current storytime trend — casually rapping along to the soundtrack of "Super Freaky Girl" by Nicki Minaj.
Black said she and her mother were contacted at the time by a "distant family relative." This relative, she said, told Black and her mom, who is a Mexican immigrant who lives in the US, that there was a fan club for her in a Mexican town.
Black said that they decided to go to this small town in Mexico for a "meet and greet" with this fan club.
"They took us to this fancy house, and then ushered us into a room full of men in suits," Black said, adding they were then brought into a room with an audience of about 20 people, and sat down in front of microphones.
Black said that her mom then acted as translator for her as she was asked a series of questions about Mexican politics, including what she thought about voting rights and then presidential candidate Peña Nieto. "And I'm like, who? What?" Black said. Peña Nieto was elected that December, and became a controversial and largely unpopular president. While in office he was accused of plagiarizing his law thesis and was criticized for ineffectual leadership. In September, the office of Mexico's attorney general launched a money laundering investigation into the former president.
Black said she didn't know what was going at the press conference on but also "didn't want to look stupid" so she answered the questions as best as she could.
"So I'm like, yeah, great, he's great, voting is great, I'm sure it'll all be great," she said. "Not really knowing what I'm talking about but I'm literally 14."
Black said she and her mom then got on a flight back home. Before takeoff she was scrolling Twitter, and spotted several headlines about her, and how she had "endorsed the presidential candidate of Mexico."
"I realize that my entire family was just scammed by this distant relative who worked for his presidential campaign into endorsing the presidential candidate of Mexico" Black said. "And the world thinks I've done it as a 14 year old, and I've never heard of this man in my life."
@msrebeccablack #onethingaboutme ♬ Super Freaky Girl - Nicki Minaj
Insider has reached out to Black's representatives for comment.