Shakira’s sons age explored as the singer says her kids “absolutely hated” last year’s biggest hit Barbie

In a recent Allure interview, Shakira, a three-time Grammy winner, shared that her two young sons, Milan (11) and Sasha (9), did not enjoy the popular movie Barbie from last year. Shakira, who shares her sons with her former partner, Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué, expressed her own lack of enthusiasm for the film.

On April 1, 2024, Allure published an article featuring Shakira as she prepares for her comeback with her 12th studio album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Women No Longer Cry). This highly anticipated release comes seven years after her last album, El Dorado, was released in 2017.

In an article by Allure titled “Shakira’s She-Wolf Feminism,”the singer explains to interviewer Patricia Tortolani that while women should have agency and power, it should not be achieved by diminishing men. She states:

“My sons absolutely hated it. They felt that it was emasculating. And I agree, to a certain extent.”

Shakira’s Childhood Idol: Wonder Woman

During her interview with Allure, Shakira expressed that she partially concurred with her son’s evaluation, emphasizing her desire for women to feel empowered without undermining men. She stated:

“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. 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.”

She further stated:

“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.”

Despite her disappointment with the movie Barbie, Shakira acknowledged the existence of misogyny. She pointed to her own experience with the cover of 2005 Oral Fixation, Vol. 2., where she was portrayed as Eve, as evidence of this issue.

“Eve was a story created by misogynists to put women in the little box where we have to remain silent, not speak our minds, and not be a catalyst for change. To keep things as they are.”

Growing up, Shakira idolized Wonder Woman as a symbol of empowerment and strength, given her Lebanese father and native Colombian mother. She saw Wonder Woman as a representation of her own diverse background and was inspired by her powerful and confident persona.

“My idol was Wonder Woman. I think I was drawn to her because she had black hair like mine, but also because she was a symbol of empowerment and strength in a decade where women were not playing the most important roles.”

Shakira opens up about moving on from long-term relationship

In her Allure cover story, the singer discussed her tumultuous break-up with Gerard Piqué, revealing that she was able to rebuild and reinvent herself after their heartbreaking separation.

“I was in the mud. I had to reconstruct myself. I had to reunite all the pieces that had fallen apart. I have rebuilt myself in the ways I believe are appropriate. No one tells me how to cry or when to cry, no one tells me how to raise my children, no one tells me how I become a better version of myself. I decided that.”

The pair, who initially crossed paths in 2010 while filming the music video for Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), released a joint statement on June 4, 2022, revealing their decision to part ways.