Latin-R&B singer Nezza took the field at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, allegedly under strict instructions not to sing in Spanish... but she did it anyway.
Wearing a Dominican Republic jersey and clutching her mic, Nezza - real name Vanessa Hernández - stepped up and performed the national anthem in Spanish, against the instructions of a Dodgers staffer who had tried to shut it down just moments earlier, per Variety.
“We are going to do the song in English today, so I’m not sure if that wasn’t relayed,” a team representative was heard telling her in a TikTok clip that has since racked up over 4 million views.
The video then cuts to her singing in Spanish, with the text: “So I did it anyway.”
Later that evening, a tearful Nezza shared another TikTok explaining why the moment was so emotional and deeply personal.
“Bear with me ’cause I’m still very shaken up and emotional,” she began. “You can Google it, (but) I’ll just read it to you really quick: ‘It was officially commissioned in 1945 by the U.S. State Department as a part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s good neighbor policy to foster a better relationship with Latin America.’”
Given the anthem’s historical roots and recent ICE raids rocking the city of Los Angeles, Nezza felt compelled to take a stand, right there on the diamond.
“Because of this, I didn’t think I would be met with any sort of, like, no, especially because we’re in L.A., and with everything happening,” she said. “And I’ve sung the national anthem (in English) many times in my life, but… today out of all days I could not, I’m sorry.”
Fighting back tears, she said: “I just could not believe when she walked in and told me no. I just felt like I needed to do it. For anyone who’s been following me for a while, you know everything I do is out of love.
"And I am proud of myself for doing that today. Because my parents are immigrants and they’ve been citizens my whole life at this point. They got documented really early, but I just can’t imagine them being ripped away from me, just even at this age, let alone (as) a little kid. What are we doing?”
She ended the clip with a bittersweet laugh and a tissue dab: “Anyways, sorry, this is a whole different side of me that y’all never see. But thank you for all the sweet messages. … Safe to say I’m never allowed in that stadium ever again. But I love you guys so much.”
But despite her fears of being blacklisted, a Dodgers spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times there would be “no consequences from the club regarding the performance and that Nezza would be welcome back at the stadium in the future.”