Rebecca Black became an overnight sensation following the release of “Friday” when she was just 13 — and she ended up in some pretty wild situations.
Looking back, the now-25-year-old recalled one particular instance where she got totally “scammed” by a distant relative in Mexico.
Rebecca agreed to appear at a meet-and-greet, but unfortunately, that’s not quite what happened when she arrived.
“We get to the day of the meet and greet, and they take us to some big fancy house, and then they usher us into a room full of men in suits. I meet them all,” Rebecca explained.
She continued, “And then, they take me to a room full of an audience of about 20 people all wearing these T-shirts.”
Rebecca and her mom were then seated at a table with microphones in front of a step and repeat banner — and started getting asked some pretty unexpected questions.
“It kind of looks like a press conference, and my mom is next to me acting as my translator,” she said. “People in the crowd start asking me questions, like, ‘How do you like Mexico?’ and ‘How do you feel about voting rights?’ and ‘How do you feel about the presidential candidate of Mexico?’ at the time.”
Rebecca, who was just 14 at the time, didn’t know how to answer the political questions but tried to play along because she didn’t want to “look stupid” for being uneducated.
“So, I’m like, ‘Yeah, great. He’s great. Voting’s great. I’m sure it’ll all be great,’ not really knowing what I’m talking about,” she said.
She says she only put together that something was off about the experience on her way home when she realized that she had never received the keys to the city.
After checking Twitter, she discovered that during the event, she had unknowingly endorsed Enrique Peña Nieto, who was running for president at the time.
“I realize that my entire family was just scammed by this distant relative who worked for his presidential campaign. … And the world thinks I’ve done it as a 14-year-old when I’ve never heard of this man in my life,” Rebecca concluded.
Enrique ended up winning the election and serving as president from December 2012 to November 2018.
