Shakira Explained Why Her Sons Didn’t Like Barbie

Her hips do not lie, and neither do her sons. Colombian pop star Shakira got very candid about her and her family’s reaction to Greta Gerwig’s Oscar-nominated film Barbie, the biggest blockbuster of 2023. And it sounds as though they did not feel the Kenergy.

“I watched it, yeah,” the “Whenever, Wherever” singer said when asked about the movie for a new profile in Allure. “My sons absolutely hated it,” she continued, referring to her boys Sasha, 9, and Milan, 11, whom she shares with 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.”

Elaborating on her preferred gender dynamics, Shakira said, “I like pop culture when it attempts to empower women without robbing men of their possibility to be men, to also protect and provide. 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.”

Perhaps thinking of the part in Barbie where all the positions of power (and therefore responsibility) in Barbie Land are held by women (well, Barbies), Shakira said, “Why not share the load with people who deserve to carry it, who have a duty to carry it as well?”

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