Nezza Says Dodgers Told Her She’s No Longer ‘Welcome’ After Singing National Anthem in Spanish

Nezza took a big risk when she sang the national anthem in Spanish at a recent Los Angeles Dodgers game, despite being instructed not to — and as a result, the musician says she is no longer “welcome” at the stadium. 

In an interview with Variety published Tuesday (June 17) — two days after Nezza performed the anthem in Spanish out of solidarity with the immigrant families who have been targeted by recent ICE raids in L.A. — the singer said that she was asked not to return before she even “set foot out of” Dodger Stadium.  

“As I was walking back out, we received a call, and they were like, ‘Don’t ever email us again,'” she told the publication. “‘Don’t ever call us again. Your clients are never welcome here ever again.'”  

The anecdote directly contrasts with a statement previously shared by the team, according to Variety. “There were no consequences or hard feelings from the Dodgers regarding her performance,” a spokesperson for the Dodgers said. “She was not asked to leave. We would be happy to have her back.” 

In response to the team’s statement, Nezza says she was “confused.” “I don’t know who’s not communicating over there, or if they don’t know that she said that to us, and they’re now learning that,” she told the publication. “But yeah, no one’s reached out directly to us yet.” 

Billboard has reached out to a rep for the L.A. Dodgers for comment. 

Nezza was left in tears Sunday after a team official asked her to refrain from singing in Spanish, a video of which the Latin pop musician shared with followers on TikTok. “We are gonna do the song in English today,” an off-camera woman tells a visibly disappointed Nezza in the clip, which has garnered millions of views. “I’m not sure if that wasn’t relayed.” 

The California native would go on to perform in Spanish anyway, later telling followers that she’d done so with respect to the struggles much of L.A.’s Latin population is facing amid the Donald Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns and explaining that the version she sang was commissioned by the U.S. government in 1945. To Variety, Nezza said that she’d originally offered to sing the anthem in both English and Spanish, but was never given a clear answer, up until the official captured in her TikTok told her that she could do it only in English. 

“It truly felt so … I don’t want to say personal,” she recalled of being told “no.” “It just hit me harder than anything has in my entire life. And that’s what fueled me at the end of the day — and seeing everybody in the stands … And then she made me do it again in English, and sat there and watched me to make sure that I did it in English.” 

“I wasn’t being like, ‘Oh, this is gonna make headlines,'” Nezza added. “I truly just did it from the bottom of my heart, to inspire everyone. Because when I looked up at the stadium, 90% of the people in the stands were Latino. So I was like, ‘How am I not gonna do this today — on today of all days?’ So I looked around and I was like, ‘I have to. I have to.'”