R&B singer Nezza sang natl anthem in FDR's sponsored Spanish for the Dodgers

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https://variety.com/2025/music/news/nezza-dodgers-spanish-star-spangled-banner-national-anthem-1236432536/

After Singing ‘Star Spangled Banner’ in Spanish at Dodgers Game in Spite of Being Warned Not To, Nezza Tearfully Says: ‘Today, Out of All Days… I Needed to Do It’

.... In her Saturday night video, Nezza — who is laughing at the start of the clip and wiping away tears by end — explained her intentions. “Bear with me ’cause I’m still very shaken up and emotional,” she said, reiterating that her version is part of the government-authorized history of the anthem in the U.S. “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.” ....

She continued, “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. 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. ....

The Dodgers have been under fire in some quarters for not taking a stand on the ICE raids. L.A. Times sports columnist Dylan Hernández sparked controversy with a column bearing the headline “Cowardly Dodgers remain silent as ICE raids terrorize their fans.” Wrote the columnist, “The Dodgers boast that more than 40% of their fan base is Latino, but they can’t even be bothered to offer the shaken community any words of comfort.”

Although the extreme crackdown on immigrants has been wildly unpopular in the L.A. area, the Dodgers organization was never likely to speak up about it, given the team’s historical determination to remain strictly apolitical. The team may have become further wary still of any controversy after being criticized from all ends of the spectrum in 2023 for its handling of a satirical, religiously themed drag squad being invited, uninvited and then re-invited to be honored at a Pride night in 2023.

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