Pop star Shakira is finally coming out with a new album after a long seven-year gap. The Hips Don’t Lie star is currently promoting her 16-track album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran or Women No Longer Cry. The artist reportedly intends for the album to be empowering, enabling women to rediscover their strengths and build bridges between people.
While Shakira sought to empower women with her new album, she reportedly had some strong opinions about last year’s Barbie. The pop star mentioned that her sons found the film to be ‘emasculating’ and that she agreed with the same. Fans slammed the singer for her statement on the movie as she joined a few more celebrities who bashed the film for similar reasons.
Shakira Bashed Barbie For Being Too Emmasculating
Pop star Shakira is known for her amazing dance numbers. The Columbian native broke into the scene with her chart-topping hit Hips Don’t Lie and has since become one of the most recognizable figures in the world. She is reportedly looking forward to the release of her upcoming album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, which comes seven years after her previous album.
While speaking to Allure about her upcoming album, she spoke of one of her songs. The music video of her collaboration with rapper Cardi B, Puntería, reportedly sees the two artists as the daughters of Artemis hunting down centaurs (‘with a six-pack’) in a world dominated by women. The singer mentioned,
“The song represents the newborn woman. After you pass through the storm, you start to connect with the woman inside of you, with those womanly needs, your desires, and your passions…The centaurs, they’re in ecstasy. Because on this planet, the men are happy to be dominated by women.”
However, the singer reportedly was not impressed with another media released last year, which saw a world being dominated by women and men being subservient to that. Shakira mentioned that she saw Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, but she was reportedly not impressed with the ideology spoken in the film. She also mentioned that her sons hated it. She said,
“I watched it, yeah. My sons absolutely hated it. 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 singer went on to mention how she wanted films to not just give women the tools to empower themselves but also allow them to not lose their femininity or essence while doing so. She also mentioned how men and women must complement each other in the world.
Shakira’s Thoughts On Barbie Irks Fans
While Greta Gerwig’s Barbie became the highest-grossing film of 2023 and also broke several other records for the studio, it also drew disdain from many celebrities who expressed the radical philosophy in the film. Apart from Shakira, who said that the film was ‘emasculating’, other celebrities such as Ben Shapiro, Elon Musk, and Bill Maher also condemned the film (via Variety).
Gerwig, who co-wrote and helmed the blockbuster film, responded to some of the backlash received by Barbie and said that she did not anticipate the amount of anger the film caused. She said to The Times,
“Certainly, there’s a lot of passion. My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men. I hope that in all of that passion, if they see it or engage with it, it can give them some of the relief that it gave other people.”
Fans seemed to be annoyed at Shakira for her statement about the film, citing that Margot Robbie-starrer spoke about exactly what she reportedly wanted pop culture to do.
did she not watch the ending of the movie where the ken’s finally got their respect and their purpose was showcasted
— Madboy (@takecarehours) April 1, 2024
just say you didn't understand it and go
— cami🦋 (@oasisraindrops) April 1, 2024
women don't owe femininity to anyone, not even themselves… what an awful take. disappointing.
— 𝗣𝗘𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦 (@WHITEH0TPEPPERS) April 1, 2024
Shaki, you missed the point pic.twitter.com/vab7c00uJM
— La Bruja Medusa ❤️🔥🐍🇵🇸 (@labruja_medusa) April 1, 2024
So she took 2 YOUNG BOYS (no older than 12) to a movie based on a popular doll aimed and targeted towards young girls and women, and was surprised when said young boys felt emasculated, on top of HER not understanding the message? Oh she tanked
— Vic 🇳🇬🦄 (@V1CT0RlOUS) April 1, 2024
While the film did receive criticisms, it still seemed to have gotten far more love as Barbie earned accolades and nominations during the award season and $1.4 billion in box office collections.
