In an interview with Allure published on Monday, the Colombian pop singer shared her less-than-glowing take on Greta Gerwig’s acclaimed movie, which starred Margot Robbie in the title role.
“My sons absolutely hated it. They felt that it was emasculating,” she said, referring to her sons, 11-year-old Milan and nine-year-old Sasha, whom she shares with her ex-boyfriend, Gerard Piqué. “And I agree, to a certain extent.”
The three-time Grammy winner said she wanted her sons “to feel powerful too” while “respecting women,” something she felt Barbie didn’t adequately portray.
“I like pop culture when it attempts to empower women without robbing men of their possibility to be men, to also protect and provide,” Shakira said.
“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.”
“Just because a woman can do it all doesn’t mean she should?” journalist Patricia Alfonso Tortolani asked on social media in response, with Shakira replying: “Why not share the load with people who deserve to carry it, who have a duty to carry it as well?”
Released in July last year, Barbie debuted to praise from critics and was a tremendous hit, raking in over $1 billion at the box office worldwide.
The movie also garnered a total of eight Academy Award nominations, including acting nods for Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera.
Despite the accolades Barbie received, a number of dissenting voices did emerge. Among those was director Oliver Stone, who criticised Ryan Gosling for not focusing on “more serious films”.
“Ryan Gosling is wasting his time if he’s doing that shit for money,” he told City A.M. in June last year. “He shouldn’t be a part of this infantilisation of Hollywood.
“Now it’s all fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, including all the war pictures: fantasy, fantasy.”
When Deadline reprinted some of his City A.M. interview in January, the Natural Born Killers director clarified that his remarks on Barbie were made before he’d had a chance to view the movie in its entirety.
“I was able to see Barbie in July and appreciated the film for its originality and its themes,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I found the filmmakers’ approach certainly different than what I expected. I apologise for speaking ignorantly.”