Singer Nezza reacts to Dodgers' statement after national anthem performance

Singer Vanessa Hernández, known as Nezza, says a recent statement from the Dodgers is confusing after she claims she had been told she was not welcome back following her performance of the national anthem in Spanish at a recent Dodger game.

Nezza performed the official Spanish-language version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" Sunday before the game at Dodger Stadium.

In a video shared on TikTok, which now has over 12 million views, Nezza showed a snippet of a conversation at Dodger Stadium right before she was set to perform the national anthem. In the video she wrote, “Watch the Dodgers tell me I can't sing the Spanish Star Spangled Banner that Roosevelt literally commissioned in 1945.”

Nezza performed the official Spanish-language version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" Sunday before the game at Dodger Stadium.

She spoke with NBC4 on Tuesday about the moment, saying “I don’t think I’ve ever been that heartbroken in my life.”

“It just felt like such a stab to the Latino people when they said no,” Nezza said. “And it hit me to my core.”

The singer added that the positive messages she received from people who were in attendance at the game, thanking her for what she did, is what made it worth it. 

“Seeing the Latin community just come together in this moment and just be like, we’re with you, we stand with you,’ has just been so crazy and loving,” Nezza said. 

But the moment came with some controversy and confusion, Nezza explains. 

According to a statement from a Dodgers spokesperson Tuesday morning, they said that they would welcome Nezza back and that there were “no consequences or hard feelings regarding her performance.”

“She was not asked to leave. We would be happy to have her back," the statement continued. 

However, Nezza said she was confused because she said the statement was not the same message she had heard during a phone call after her performance. 

The singer said that before she even left the stadium, “We were told verbatim, 'Don’t ever call us again, don’t ever email us again, your clients are never welcome here ever again,' and then they hung up.”

She said she had heard from anyone with the organization since that phone call.

"That’s not the message that I received,” she added. "Regardless if I’m welcome back, I don’t feel welcome to come back."

Nezza told NBC4 that her actions were not about disrespect, explaining that in her initial pitch to sing the National Anthem in both English and Spanish, she provided the historical information about “El Pendón Estrellado,” a Spanish-language rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner."

“It really wasn’t to be disrespectful because the lyrics are the same. I was still singing that I’m a proud American. I am a proud American, I am,” she said. “I really just wanted to go out there and make the Latin community feel included.”