National anthem singer launches incendiary ICE protest at Dodgers game... before it all ends in tears
Singer Nezza has revealed she sang the national anthem at the Dodgers game in LA on Saturday night in Spanish in solidarity to ICE protestors in the city - despite the team trying to stop her.
In a tearful post on TikTok, Nezza revealed the Dodgers told her to sing the anthem in English, but she went against the wishes of the team.
In a separate video, she shared a clip of what she says was a Dodgers official off camera telling her to sing the anthem in English.
'We are going to do the song in English today,' the woman can be heard saying in the footage, to which Nezza looks visibly surprised. The clip goes on to show her defying the requst.
'Watch the Dodgers tell me I can't sing the Spanish Star-Spangled Banner that Roosevelt literally comissioned in 1945,' she captioned the post. 'So I did it anyway,' she added as an extra caption when the video shows her singing.
The 30-year-old, who wore a Dominican Republic jersey for her performance, then shared an emotional second post explaining her version of events from the start of the game.
'I didn't think I'd be met with any sort of no,' Nezza - real name Vanessa Hernandez - said on her TikTok in a post late on Saturday night. 'I just felt like I needed to do it. I'm still very shaken up and emotional. Especially because we're in L.A., and with everything happening. I've sang the national anthem many times in my life, but today, out of all days, I could not. I'm sorry.
'I could not believe when she walkied in and told me no. For anyone who has been following me for a while, you will know everything I do is out of love.
'I am proud of myself for doing that today because my parents are immigrants. I just can't imagine them being ripped away from me, even at this age. Let alone little kids, what are we doing?
'Anyways, thank you for all the messages. I love you guys so much. Safe to say I am never allowed in that stadium again.'
The Dodgers have been contacted for comment. According to The Athletic, she was not punished for ignoring the team request and is not banned from Dodger Stadium in the future.
Protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns have been rife across Los Angeles over that last week.
The Dodgers, who visitied Donald Trump in the White House recently as World Series champions, have not commented about the scenes.
'Honestly, I don't know enough, to be quite honest with you,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
'I know that when you're having to bring people in and deport people, all the unrest, it's certainly unsettling for everyone. But I haven't dug enough and can't speak intelligently on it.'
Dodgers player Kike Hernandez adressed the situation on Instagram on Saturday, saying: 'I may not be Born & Raised, but this city adopted me as one of their own.
'I am saddened and infuriated by what's happening in our country and our city. Los Angeles and Dodger fans have welcomed me, supported me and shown me nothing but kindness and love.'
Hernandez, who was born in Puerto Rico, added: 'This is my second home. And I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and human rights. #CityOfImmigrants.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
13 minutes ago
- Reuters
Andy Pages' blast secures comeback win for Dodgers over Giants
June 16 - Andy Pages hit a three-run home run to lift the host Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. Dustin May (4-4, 4.46 ERA) pitched six innings for the win. The right-hander gave up six hits, three earned runs, walked four and struck out three on 94 pitches. Tanner Scott struck out the side in a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 13th save. Pages' home run gave the Dodgers the lead for good in the fifth. Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts started the inning with singles off Joey Lucchesi. They moved to second and third with a Freddie Freeman ground out. San Francisco brought in former closer Ryan Walker to try to save the lead. He struck out Teoscar Hernandez for the second out, but Pages smashed a deep drive to left-center to make it 5-3 Dodgers. Lucchesi (0-1, 27.00 ERA) took the loss for the Giants. The Dodgers started the scoring in the first when Ohtani led off with a single up the middle. Freeman singled to second with one out and Teoscar Hernandez walked to load the bases. Pages drove in Ohtani with a sacrifice fly to right for a 1-0 LA lead. Tommy Edman made it 2-0 with a two-out home run in the second. The Giants fought back with a two-out rally in the fourth. Mike Yastrzemski singled to right and Logan Porter was hit by a pitch. Christian Koss singled up the middle to score Yastrzemski and cut the Dodgers lead to 2-1. Jung Hoo Lee gave the Giants the lead with a triple just inside the right field line. Porter and Koss scored to make it 3-2 Giants. Sean Hjelle was the last-minute starter for the Giants. Kyle Harrison was warming up in the bullpen less than 30 minutes before game time when he was told he was part of the Rafael Devers trade with Boston. Hjelle had appeared in just three games out of the bullpen with four innings pitched. The right-hander gave the Giants 3 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and two runs with two walks and five strikeouts on 54 pitches. --Field Level Media
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The Sopranos' Dominic Chianese, 94, to reflect on 'checkered' career in one night only event
Fans of HBO 's The Sopranos will be able to attend a one night only event where one of the show's stars will be opening up about his career. The event will feature actor Dominic Chianese, the 94-year-old actor who played Corrado "Junior" Soprano in the hit HBO series. Dominic Chianese: One Night Only will be held at The Town Hall in New York City on June 30, with tickets available now via Ticketmaster. The actor plans on telling stories about his famous friends - everyone from Al Pacino to James Gandolfini - while also showing off his singing skills. 'The stories, they come out, and the songs, they sort of portray the stories, too,' the actor revealed in an interview with People. 'I'm talking about all the beautiful mentors I've had all these years, wonderful mentors, colleagues in the business, especially Pacino and people like that, and the film directors,' he added. The actor continued, 'I played a lot of authority figures, lawyers, judges, criminals. I played priests. It's a wonderful career. It's a very long career, a checkered career.' His career also included roles in The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon, Cradle Will Rock, Boardwalk Empire and more, including The Sopranos, as one of the few characters to survive throughout the show's run. He is also a singer, releasing two albums, including the Italian-language album Ungrateful Heart. 'I like to sing live, but Stevie Van Zandt taught me that you can really sing with your heart and let it out in the studio,' Chianese said. 'He taught me that, so when we did Core 'ngrato, and [Sopranos creator David Chase] said, 'We're going to use that,' that made me realize in that recording, you can let it all out in a recording studio,' Chianese added of the song he sang in The Sopranos Season 3 finale. 'I thought you had to be pure like Bing Crosby in the old days, but you can let it out,' he added of his singing. He added that his grandfather from Naples, Italy first taught him how to sing, and he 'absorbed' the music he heard. 'He really sang from the heart, and for years as a child, I would listen to him,' the actor said of his grandfather. 'His music came from the heart, and singing wasn't about talent or even the voice. It was the way I did it,' he continued. The actor began his career as a teacher, a path his father had encouraged, but he gave it up after a few years. 'It didn't work out because they wouldn't let me teach my way. They gave me a curriculum that was so foreign to my students,' he added. 'I loved teaching. I would've stayed. I was 35 at the time, but I couldn't. They wouldn't have me do it my way, and so I had to leave,' he said. 'I believe in teaching. I love children, but you can only teach what you believe. I always think about those kids. They're 65 years old now. Maybe one of them will come to the show, and they'll remember me. I would love to see them,' Chianese said.
The Independent
39 minutes ago
- The Independent
JJ Spaun lauds ‘fairytale ending' after killing Robert MacIntyre's US Open dream
JJ Spaun lauded his own 'fairytale ending' after killing Robert MacIntyre's US Open dream. Spaun's brilliant finish at the brutal Oakmont robbed MacIntyre of the chance to become Scotland's first major champion since 1999 after he burst into contention after an excellent two-under-par 68. That made him the clubhouse leader at one over and the Scot looked set for at least a play-off against Spaun, who had two holes to play. But the American first sent a stunning 309-yard drive onto the green at the short par-four 17th and two-putted for a birdie before sinking a mammoth 64-foot putt on the 18th green to seal glory. MacIntyre was watching open-mouthed in the scorer's office and could do nothing but applaud his opponent. 'It's definitely like a storybook, fairytale ending, kind of underdog fighting back, not giving up, never quitting,' he said. 'With the rain and everything and then the putt, you couldn't write a better story. I'm just so fortunate to be on the receiving end of that. 'Just to finish it off like that is just a dream. You watch other people do it. You see the Tiger chip, you see Nick Taylor's putt, you see crazy moments. 'To have my own moment like that at this championship, I'll never forget this moment for the rest of my life.' Spaun may consider the thunderstorm at around 4pm local time (9pm BST) to be divine intervention. Before the heavens opened at Oakmont and forced a 96-minute delay, the first-round leader was five over for his round after eight holes and four off the lead. But while leaders Sam Burns and Adam Scott floundered in the soaking conditions after the resumption, Spaun found his best game and birdies at the 12th, 14th, 17th and 18th took him to glory. 'I felt like I had a chance, a really good chance to win the US Open at the start of the day,' he said. 'It just unravelled very fast. But that break was actually the key for me to winning this tournament. 'The tee shot on nine, like my first shot back. That was the hole we got stopped on. I just flushed one, like a nice little cut up the left side. 'And I was like, 'All right, we're back'. I didn't hit too many bad shots after that.' Overnight leader Burns saw his hopes get washed away after the restart. He held a two-shot lead when the rain came but could not cope with the sodden conditions, producing two bogeys to finish tied for seventh on four over. The American Ryder Cup player felt he should have been given free relief due to standing water on the 15th fairway. 'That fairway slopes left to right,' he said. 'That's kind of the low part of the fairway there. 'When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up. Took practice swings and it's just water splashing every single time. 'Called a rules official over, they disagreed. I looked at it again. I thought maybe I should get a second opinion. That rules official also disagreed. 'At the end of the day, it's not up to me, it's up to the rules official. That's kind of that.'
