Singer Nezza performs national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium after team axed it
Rising R&B singer Nezza is going viral for her choice to sing the "Star Spangled Banner" in Spanish at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game, apparently despite the team's request not to.
In a TikTok the singer posted on Sunday, June 15, Nezza can be seen sporting a Dominican Republic jersey as an unseen woman, presumably with the Dodgers front office, confirms the national anthem should be sung in English. While being told this, Nezza says, "Oh," as her face immediately falls, before the video cuts to the 30-year-old singing in Spanish in Dodger Stadium.
"watch the dodgers tell me i can't sing the spanish star spangled banner that Roosevelt literally commissioned in 1945," Nezza wrote in the onscreen text. "so i did anyway."
Celebrities tell all about aging, marriage and Beyoncé in these 10 bingeable memoirs
Midway through the clip of Nezza singing, she appears to cover her face out of emotion, before gathering herself to finish out the anthem, to cheers.
She captioned the TikTok: "para mi gente (for my people) i stand with you." The video has been seen over seven million times.
In a separate TikTok later that day, Nezza explained the official "Star Spangled Banner" translation in Spanish was commissioned by President Franklin Roosevelt to build a better relationship with Latin America. "Because of this, I didn't think I would be met with any sort of 'no.' Especially because we're in LA. And with everything happening."
USA TODAY has reached out to the Dodgers and Nezza's rep for comment.
Nezza is likely referring to nationwide protests over the federal government's immigration enforcement, which first erupted in Los Angeles earlier this month.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is carrying out a directive from President Donald Trump to find immigrants living in the United States without legal status. His goal is to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants annually. This has sparked a series of sometimes-violent protests in the greater Los Angeles area.
"I just could not believe when she walked in and told me no. But I just felt like I needed to do it," Nezza continued. "And I'm proud of myself for doing that today."
The singer said her parents are immigrants who have been documented for years, but she "just can't imagine them being ripped away from me, even at this age, let alone a little kid. Like, what are we doing?"
As ICE touts arrests, chaotic scenes emerge amid immigration crackdown
Nezza shared thanks for the support she's received, before adding with a laugh that it's "safe to say I'm never allowed in that stadium ever again."
A team official told the Los Angeles Times that there were no hard feelings over the move and that Nezza would be welcome back in the stadium in the future.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nezza sings national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Girl Authority
17 minutes ago
- Geek Girl Authority
T4TNG: The Accidentally Trans STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Episode
Continuing our Pride Month Star Trek coverage, we're turning towards a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode that 'no homo'd' so hard, it accidentally became a prescient transgender allegory. For this week's Trek Tuesday , we're considering The Next Generation Season 5's 'The Outcast.' 'The Outcast' The seventeenth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5, 'The Outcast,' was originally broadcast on March 26, 1992. The U.S.S. Enterprise-D is assisting a species called the J'naii. What makes this species remarkable is that they are androgynous. As explained over the course of the episode, the majority of the species view binary gender as something they collectively evolved beyond in the past. In addition to an androgynous gender presentation, the J'naii no longer have biological gender diversity. When it comes to reproduction, both partners inject their DNA into an external womb. Furthermore, the J'naii do have a gender-neutral pronoun. However, it is stated that there is no direct translation for these pronouns. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Jennifer 'Jen' Sh'reyan In the episode, William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) meets a particular member of the J'naii species: Soren (Melinda Culea). Soren and Riker and assigned to work together closely on the project with which the Enterprise is assisting the J'naii. From the outset, Soren displays a particular interest in the human approach to binary gender. Eventually, she explains to Riker that some members of her species possess binary gender. Soren is one of them. But then she tells Riker a heartbreaking story about what happens to these gendered J'naii. In addition to ridicule, 'psychotectic therapy' is utilized. This stand-in for conversion therapy brainwashes these gendered individuals into believing they are androgynous. Afterwards, they are reintegrated into J'naii society. At the conclusion of the episode, Soren is identified as a 'gender deviant,' and after a bogus trial, she is placed into psychotectic therapy. When Riker reunites with her in the final scenes, she has been fundamentally altered. The Soren he knew is gone. The Final Front-queer Written by Jeri Taylor and directed by Robert Scheerer, 'The Outcast' is a standout episode of The Next Generation. Today, with the oppressive American regime targeting the trans community specifically, it is difficult to read the episode as anything besides an allegory about trans acceptance. But part of why the episode works so well with this reading is because punches were pulled regarding the original intention of the story. When 'The Outcast' aired in the early 1990s, the broader discourse regarding the LGBTQ+ community was centered on gay people. Just as the weapon of conversion therapy can be aimed towards trans people, it can be aimed at gay people, too. In order to ensure that the episode wasn't too 'controversial,' a woman was hired to play Soren rather than a man. RELATED: The Premise and How Star Trek Fans Created Fanfic As We Know It Decades later, Frakes expressed his regret at the shift in casting. He expressed this sentiment in a 2021 episode of After Trek centering on the Star Trek: Discovery episode 'Vaulting Ambition.' In that episode of After Trek , he stated: 'Clearly, the character who […] fell in love with Riker or vice versa should have been played by a man, and the people at the studio didn't have the guts to cast a man.' This wasn't the first time that The Next Generation approached gay representation. David Gerrold, who famously wrote the script for the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode 'The Trouble with Tribbles,' wrote a script for The Next Generation that was never made into an actual episode. In 'Blood and Fire,' two characters were alluded to be gay, and the episode at large dealt with the AIDS crisis. The Trans Read Casting a woman as Soren may have been a decision made in order to make the romance between her and Riker seem less controversial. However, thirty-three years later, this makes the episode seem more like a trans allegory. Part of the Star Trek approach is to address real-world social concerns through the lens of science fiction. This allows for the show to include discussion and analysis of themes that might be otherwise considered outside of the purview of 'television entertainment.' There are many examples of this tactic throughout the history of the Franchise. One of the earliest and most frequently cited episodes to utilize the approach is The Original Series Season 3's 'Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.' RELATED: Star Trek : The Trans Trill, Explained There is a reason that an episode that was written with gay people in mind can today be viewed as a trans allegory. This is because the social and legal pressures that were applied to gay people in the 1990s are so similar to the social and legal pressures that are being applied to trans people today. While conservative extremists may have trans people on the top of their target list, they are prejudiced against the whole LGBTQ+ community. They do not see any part of our community as people. Or at best, they perceive us to be people who are 'broken,' and need to be fixed with conversion therapy. Soren Nevertheless, it is remarkable how many of Soren's statements could be straight out of a contemporary trans person's mouth. In the climactic scene, she states, 'I am tired of lies. I am female.' She continues that she was 'born this way.' She says, 'It is not unnatural. I am not sick because I feel this way; I do not need to be helped; I do not need to be cured. What I need, and what all of those who are like me need, is your understanding and your compassion.' Later in her monologue, she states that people like her are 'called misfits and deviants and criminals.' It is not hard to see how these statements could apply in response to the prejudice that trans people face today. For example, it was recently falsely claimed on The Benny Show that the trans community 'is per capita the most violent domestic terror threat if not in America, probably the entire world.' This is a lie. We are not misfits, deviants or criminals. We are Americans who simply wish to live our lives. RELATED: Star Trek : Tracing the Holodeck's History Soren's entire climactic speech is equally as relevant as these excerpts. In order to fully appreciate it, please watch (or rewatch) the episode for yourself. However, Soren's speech is not enough to sway her fellow J'naii. As mentioned above, the episode concludes with her having undergone psychotectic therapy. Drained of the passion she once possessed, she is no longer the same person she was. Ad Astra Per Aspera For some, the decision to conclude the episode with Soren's identity having been eradicated by psychotectic therapy is controversial. However, I would argue the ending is necessary. Furthermore, it is clear from the powerful final shot that the experience weighs heavily on Riker. This is not meant to be a stable ending. This is meant to be an ending that forces the viewer to consider their own worldview and ask themselves some very difficult questions. RELATED: Star Trek Episode Trilogy: Revisiting 'Unification' Today, the spectre of forced conversion therapy is once again becoming more mainstream. For this reason, 'The Outcast' is more relevant than ever. To look the other way from the immoral forces pushing for conversion therapy is to allow innocent people to be subjected to this barbaric abuse. To borrow a tagline from 1951's The Day the Earth Stood Still, 'The Outcast' is a warning… and an ultimatum. Will you heed its moral? Star Trek: The Next Generation's 'The Outcast' is currently available for streaming on Paramount+. STAR TREK: 5 Alternate Lives Avery Kaplan is the author of several books and the Features Editor at Comics Beat. She was honored to serve as a judge for the 2021 Cartoonist Studio Prize Award and the 2021 Prism Awards. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her partner and a pile of cats, and her favorite place to visit is the cemetery. You can also find her writing on Comics Bookcase, NeoText, Shelfdust, the Mary Sue, in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Phil Murphy, Matt Platkin vow increased security for NJ officials after Minnesota shooting
In the wake of the June 14 fatal shootings of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, security measures to protect New Jersey public officials have been increased, state officials said. Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed in a June 16 statement that these measures were being taken 'out of an abundance of caution' and that there are no 'known or credible' threats in New Jersey. State Attorney General Matt Platkin echoed that and said 'we will remain vigilant in protecting public safety and our public officials.' Platkin also said he condemns the shootings in the 'strongest terms.' 'Political violence is an attack on our democracy,' he said. 'Impersonating law enforcement to carry it out is sickening." The governor said he was 'horrified by the targeted shooting of Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses,' which 'sent shockwaves throughout our nation.' Earlier: New Jersey increasing patrols to protect officials after 'targeted shootings' in Minnesota Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed in their home in Champlin in the early morning hours of June 14. Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also shot multiple times in a separate incident at their home, also on June 14. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, shared a statement on social media on June 15 from Yvette Hoffman, in which Hoffman said she was shot eight times and her husband suffered nine gunshot wounds. The statement said they were 'both incredibly lucky to be alive" and that her husband was "enduring many surgeries" and is "closer every hour to being out of the woods." 'This terrible act against two dedicated public officials is an attack on our democracy,' Murphy said. 'There is no place for political violence in the United States, and we must all work together to ensure our political differences are settled through debate, not bloodshed.' He compared the incident to the murder of Daniel Salas, son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, at their family home in 2020. That attack inspired Daniel's Law, which prohibited the public disclosure of the home addresses of judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers and other public officials. Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@ This article originally appeared on Phil Murphy increased security NJ officials after Minnesota shooting
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Stocks to Watch Tuesday: SunRun, Enphase Energy, Mitsubishi, Roku
↘️ SunRun (RUN): Solar stocks slid in off-hours trading after Senate Republicans kept in a full phase-out of solar and wind-energy tax credits in President Trump's budget bill. SunRun shares plunged almost 25%, while Enphase Energy (ENPH) and First Solar (FSLR) fell sharply, too.
