Singer and social media personality Nezza broke a rule in Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
Ahead of the Dodgers’ eventual 11-5 win over the Giants, she sang the national anthem in Spanish, but according to a video later posted by the performer, she sang it in her first language against the wishes of the organization.
Nezza, whose full name is Vanessa Hernández, posted a video on TikTok where viewers can hear an unidentified Dodgers employee telling her before the performance that “we are going to do the song in English today, so I’m not sure if that wasn’t relayed.”
The video later cuts to her singing the national anthem with the text “So I did it anyway” displayed.
Nezza later posted another TikTok video explaining the “emotional” situation with the Dodgers.
She explained the version of the national anthem that she sang was commissioned in 1945 by the U.S. State Department under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in order to establish a better relationship with Latin Americans.
The 30-year-old wanted to sing it amid the recent raids by ICE in Los Angeles.
“I didn’t think I would be met with any sort of no, especially because we’re in LA and with everything happening,” she said amid tears. “And I’ve sang the national anthem many times in my life. But today out of all days, I could not. I’m sorry. I just could not believe when she [the Dodgers employee] walked in and told me ‘no.’ But I just felt like I needed to do it para mi gente [for my people].”
“I’m proud of myself for doing that today,” Nezza added. “Because my parents are immigrants and they’ve been citizens my whole life at this point.”
She went on to say that she could not imagine being ripped away from her parents at this age, and especially at a younger age.
The Dodgers did not put out a public comment on the incident.
However, a team official explained to the Los Angeles Times that there were no consequences for the franchise regarding the performance, and Nezza would be welcomed back in the future.
The organization has been rather quiet about the unrest going on in their city. Manager Dave Roberts has been asked about the situation a few times but hasn’t offered much of an answer.
“I know that when you’re having to bring people in and deport people, all the unrest, it’s certainly unsettling for everyone,” he said, “But I haven’t dug enough and can’t speak intelligently on it,” he said on Friday.
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