Shakira Rips ‘Barbie’ Movie For Its Woke Feminism: ‘Emasculating’

Pop sensation Shakira just dropped a truth bomb about the ‘Barbie’ movie’s woke twist. In a no-holds-barred interview, the superstar didn’t mince words revealing that the film didn’t sit well with her—or her boys.

“They felt that it was emasculating,” Shakira said, relaying the sentiments of many who think Hollywood’s latest darling went too far in its bid to be feminist.

Shakira, who is both a global music icon and a mom raising two young boys, is all for empowering women but argues there’s a line. “I want ’em to feel powerful too [while] respecting women,” she stated, slamming the notion that boosting women needs to come at men’s expense.

The singer believes in equality, stating that both men and women should equally share opportunities without undermining each other. Shakira explained the point by actively promoting the idea that women don’t have to achieve everything by themselves.

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In an interview with Allure:

Now, I can’t help but ask a question that’s been on my mind since we began this conversation, “Did you watch the movie Barbie?”

“I watched it, yeah.” Long pause.

“And?”

“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. 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?”

“Why not share the load with people who deserve to carry it, who have a duty to carry it as well?”…

On a more practical level, if Shakira didn’t buy into the power dynamic of her culture, she certainly wouldn’t be beholden to its beauty ideals. “Of course, I’d put on my mascara and straighten my hair occasionally. It felt sexy, and I used that raw sensuality many times on stage as a way of expressing myself. But I think I rely on other aptitudes rather than just beauty.”

This formed part of what was termed the ‘Shakira Paradox’ in the interview—a belief in women’s right to power, agency, and expression, without dismissing the traditional expectations placed on men.

The Barbie movie, which debuted in cinemas in 2023, caused quite the storm of reactions last summer. There was a backlash from certain people and groups who accused the movie of contributing to the emasculation of men.

Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, a central point of controversy was the film’s “woke” messaging, with critics labeling it as “anti-male” and propagandist due to its exploration of a matriarchal society within Barbieland, where women hold positions of power and men, known as Kens, are depicted as having little value beyond what is assigned to them by Barbies.