“Emasculating”: Shakira’s Sons Hated ‘Barbie’ And The Pop Sensation Agrees With Them
Shakira has now given her take on ‘Barbie’, saying she somewhat agreed with her two sons who strongly disliked the 2023 film.
Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie', starring Margot Robbie, Simu Liu and Ryan Gosling, released in cinemas in July 2023, and the film emerged as one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. However, the Hollywood film garnered polarising reviews. Singer-songwriter Shakira has now given her take on the film, saying she somewhat agreed with her two sons who strongly disliked 'Barbie'. Shakira also suggested that the film was a piece of pop culture that robbed “men of their possibility to be men”.
“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,” Variety quoted Shakira as saying.
“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 added.
When the interviewer asked, “Just because a woman can do it all doesn’t mean she should?”
To this, Shakira answered, “Why not share the load with people who deserve to carry it, who have a duty to carry it as well?”
For the unversed, 'Barbie' minted USD 1.4 billion worldwide and the film also earned eight Oscar nominations, including best picture.
Earlier, 'Barbie' director Greta Gerwig had also weighed in on the backlash in an interview with The New York Times.
“Certainly, there’s a lot of passion. My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men. I hope that in all of that passion, if they see it or engage with it, it can give them some of the relief that it gave other people," she said.
