Shakira Says Her Sons Thought the ‘Barbie’ Movie Was ‘Emasculating’ 

While Shakira is no stranger to championing female empowerment, she also promotes that the topic of feminism is nuanced.

The “Hips Don’t Lie” superstar spoke to Allure for a recent cover story interview, where she revealed that her two sons — 11-year-old Milan and nine-year-old Sasha — were not fans of the 2023 Barbie movie, which received widespread celebration upon its release for its criticism of the patriarchy. “My sons absolutely hated it. They felt that it was emasculating,” Shakira told the publicaton. “And I agree, to a certain extent. I’m raising two boys. I want them 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. 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, “Why not share the load with people who deserve to carry it, who have a duty to carry it as well?”

Shakira herself received praise for the female empowerment on her 2023 “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” with Argentine DJ Bizarrap, which went straight for the jugular amid her split from soccer player Gerard Piqué. “Women don’t cry; we make money,” she declared on the track, which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Global 200.

“When I did that session, people on my team were saying, ‘Please change this. Don’t even think about coming out with those lyrics,’” she recalled to Billboard last year. “And I said, ‘Why not?’ I’m not a diplomat in the United Nations. I’m an artist, and I have the right to work on my emotions through my music. It’s my catharsis and my therapy, but it’s also the therapy of many people. I know I’m the voice of many people, and I’m not being pretentious, just realistic. I lend my voice to many women who maybe also wanted to say the same things I said and perhaps haven’t had the validation to do so. I think songs like the Bizarrap session or like the one I did with Karol have given many women strength, self-empowerment, self-confidence and also the backing to express and say what they need to say.”