Shakira is on the fence about the pink world of Barbie. In a new interview with Allure, the 47-year-old Colombian superstar admitted that she saw the blockbuster film Barbie, but had mixed feeling about the message.
“My sons absolutely hated it,” she says of Milan, 11, and Sasha, 9, whom she shares with her ex, Gerard Piqué. “They felt that it was emasculating. And I agree, to a certain extent. I’m raising two boys. I want ’em to feel powerful too [while] respecting women. I like pop culture when it attempts to empower women without robbing men of their possibility to be men, to also protect and provide.”
The Greta Gerwig-directed film starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera was released in summer 2023 to wide critical acclaim. It broke box office records and took home an Oscar for the Billie Eilish song, “What Was I Made For?”
Shakira went on to explain her outlook on female empowerment, sharing, “I believe in giving women all the tools and the trust that we can do it all without losing our essence, without losing our femininity. I think that men have a purpose in society and women have another purpose as well. We complement each other, and that complement should not be lost.”
She continued explaining, noting, “Just because a woman can do it all doesn’t mean she should. Why not share the load with people who deserve to carry it, who have a duty to carry it as well?”
Shakira is taking some of this attitude into her new album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Women No Longer Cry).
“I want this music to build bridges, to empower people, to help women discover their own strengths,” the singer says.
RELATED CONTENT: