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Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
National anthem singer reveals true extent of fury at her incendiary ICE protest before Dodgers game
Singer Vanessa Hernandez has revealed she has received death threats following her ICE protest at a Los Angeles Dodgers game last week. The 30-year-old, known by her stage name Nezza, defied orders from the Dodgers to sing a Spanish rendition of the American national anthem before Saturday's game against the San Francisco Giants. The Dominican singer claimed they tried to stop her performing the Star Spangled Banner in Spanish, before she did it anyway as a show of solidarity with ICE protestors in the city. Nezza executed the poignant tribute against the Dodgers' wishes on the day of 'No Kings' protests across the US over Donald Trump 's controversial immigration policies, which came after a week of unrest in LA. She has now told TMZ that online trolls have sent her death threats but she stands by her decision to sing in Spanish and is adamant she's 'on the right side of history'. Nezza also revealed that George Lopez, Becky G and other musicians had reached out to offer their support. She said: 'I have received quite the backlash but it's been way more positive and love so that kind of outweighs that. I already knew in my heart that what I did was right but this triple confirms it for me. 'The death threats are one things but that's just the internet. I'm taking that as that is going to come from something like this. Anything that involves politics is going to involve a death threat. 'The main thing I have been seeing is that it was "disrespectful". I don't think it was because the lyrics are the exact same as the English version. 'I am a proud American. I was born here, raised her, my dreams came true here in LA and I think being a proud American and still wanting better for your country can be the same truth and I think people are forgetting that.' After Nezza posted a clip on TikTok which showed a Dodgers official telling her to sing the anthem in English, before she stunningly defied that request, a large portion of the team's fans heaped praise on her. One replied to her latest TikTok video by saying: '50 year dodgers fan & proud of you, no more games til they make this right.' 'As a la native and a dodgers fan, I'm disappointed in them,' said another. 'I'm so glad you SANNNG it in Spanish even though they told you not too! You got a new follower queen'. 'God damn. Dodgers have botched the last week pretty badly,' another fan posted on X about the anthem controversy. While one said about Nezza: 'Good for her. The @dodgers are being hypocritical. They'll have Mexico Night, hire Mariachis to play at the games, & have surely cashed in on billions of $ of revenue from a loyal Latino fan-base, much of it undocumented. Maybe when/if they get hit in the pocketbook….' However, other members of the Dodgers faithful were less impressed by her protest after being invited by the team to sing in English. 'Total lack of respect by @Nezza,' one concluded. 'She's invited by @Dodgers to sing in English. But makes decision to sing in Spanish. This is why people don't take WOKE /DEI/serious. People should boycott her music'. Another commented: 'If the @Dodgers invite Nezza back to Dodger Stadium for another reimagining of our Star Spangled Banner I know I won't be the only one who stays away. Spoke to many friends (Latino included) and it doesn't sit right with any of us. She can serenade Dominican Rep crowds instead.' While one even claimed: 'After Nezza singing [in Spanish] and not being banned forever, I will never attend another Dodger game'. In a tearful follow-up video to her original TikTok post, Hernandez suggested she has been banned from Dodger Stadium after ignoring the request to perform in English. 'Thank you for all the sweet messages,' she concluded at the end of the video before adding, 'I love you guys so much. Safe to say I am never allowed in that stadium again.' Yet according to The LA Times, she was not punished for ignoring the team request and is not banned from Dodger Stadium in the future.
Daily Mail
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Labour climate envoy 'living like a travel writer' after racking up 75,000 air miles in just nine months
Labour's climate envoy has been accused of living like a 'travel writer' after it emerged she has effectively circled the globe three times in her new role. Rachel Kyte has clocked up more than 75,000 air miles since her appointment in September – costing taxpayers almost £40,000. The majority of her flights were in business class, according to details released to The Telegraph via a Freedom of Information request. Ms Kyte, an academic and fan of environmental group Extinction Rebellion, was recruited by Ed Miliband in September as the UK's new 'special representative for climate'. She has previously admitted her carbon footprint was 'a source of deep discomfort', but she visited a foreign country every month between October and May. Her personal carbon footprint for the flights alone could be as high as 15 metric tonnes of CO2. The average carbon footprint per person in the UK is around 12.7 metric tonnes of CO2, for a whole year. Ms Kyte racked up the miles – costing a total of £38,769 – on trips to Dar es Salaam, Cape Town, Washington DC and Riyadh, among other far-flung destinations. According to the Government's website, her objectives are to 'build the UK's profile as a progressive climate leader' and 'drive for results in the clean energy transition and green and inclusive growth'. She told the New Statesman in 2021, while working at a university in Massachusetts: 'Having worked internationally for years, and with family on the other side of the Atlantic and friends spread across the world, the carbon footprint wrapped up in my social and professional identity is a source of deep discomfort.' The Foreign Office said all Ms Kyte's travel complied with internal travel policies, and her 'international diplomacy has supported efforts to unlock more private finance to tackle the climate crisis and taken forward our mission to be a clean energy superpower'. Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, said: 'The climate envoy is more like a travel writer travelling around the world to exotic locations.' Earlier this year, the Mail revealed that Ms Kyte was among a string of Extinction Rebellion cheerleaders recruited by Mr Miliband to government roles. She is one of a trio of advisers who have expressed public admiration for the radical direct action group that has repeatedly brought chaos to Britain's streets. Ms Kyte previously sported an Extinction Rebellion badge at an international climate summit and praised an eco-activist who glued herself to the pavement outside Shell's headquarters in London. The Mail also revealed this year that civil servants at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spent more than £700,000 of taxpayer cash on luxury air travel last year, with staff flying business and premium economy 237 times in 12 months.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
‘I may do it, I may not': Why Trump's unpredictability on Iran could be his biggest asset
Donald Trump made a dramatic exit from the G7 summit in Canada and then hunkered down with his National Security Council in the White House situation room to plot his next moves on Iran. Then on Wednesday he was asked by reporters whether he was about to send his bombers into action. 'I may do it. I may not do it,' he said on the South Lawn after chatting with construction workers putting up a 27-metre flagpole. 'I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble.' It is a familiar playbook. In a recent analysis of Mr Trump's leadership style, Julius Kirimi Sindi, an expert in business strategy said the president was not so much governing as running a non-stop negotiation. 'This uncertainty forces people to constantly second-guess their positions, giving Trump the upper hand in any negotiation or political battle,' he wrote. 'The strategy keeps both allies and enemies in a perpetual state of anxiety, which in turn, solidifies his control.' Not for the first time, the president has deployed intentional ambiguity as he keeps friends and foes guessing about his intentions. And once again, he is seeking to gain the upper hand by deploying a trusted 'art of the deal' technique to a tricky geopolitical challenge. His final decision could be the most consequential of his presidency. Join with Israel in attacking Iran with B2 warplanes armed with bunker busting bombs and it could prevent Tehran from ever building a nuclear weapon. But it might also unleash attacks on American interests in the Middle East, and tear apart his Maga coalition at home. urging him not to become entangled in another foreign war. Mr Trump was keeping his options open for now, according to Robert Shapiro, professor of political science, in the hope that something would turn up. 'I think in the best of all worlds for him, he would be perfectly fine with a negotiated settlement, which would give him the prospects of winning the Nobel Peace Prize, which is something he's always talked about,' he said. 'On the other hand, he likes the idea of clean military victory by dropping a bomb and claiming credit for that.' The strategy of unpredictability has been at the heart of this White House. It was how he handled his trade war, for example. A week after 'liberation day,' a day before his steep tariffs were due to go into effect and one hour before the stock market was due to close, journalists peppered the president with questions about his levies and the turmoil they had unleashed. Were they a bargaining chip to secure better deals? Or were they here to stay as part of an attempt to reshape the entire global economy? 'It can both be true,' he said. 'There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations.' And he has repeatedly fended off questions about his Ukraine strategy, punting questions about Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and his desire for peace into the future. 'I can't tell you that, but I'll let you know in about two weeks,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office,' he said seven weeks ago. The idea may be to keep adversaries on their toes, but it is just as awkward for allies. The G7 summit came and went without a joint statement on Ukraine in part because no one is sure where Mr Trump stands. On Wednesday evening, standing in front of reporters in the Oval Office, Mr Trump once again parried questions about whether he was about to launch strikes on Iran or allow more time to begin negotiations. Is he for real or is it all a monumental bluff? 'I have ideas as to what to do,' he said. 'I like to make a final decision one second before it's due.'
