No, Selena's Killer Yolanda Saldivar Didn’t Say She Wants to Work With Shakira After She’s Released on Parole

Rumors emerged online that the Tejano superstar's convicted killer, who is eligible for parole next year, wants to work for the Colombian music icon.

June 12, 2024

Selena holding a Grammy award in an elegant gown. Shakira in a fashionable red dress at a formal event — Larry Busacca / Getty Images, Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Contrary to previous reports, Selena Quintanilla Perez’s killer did not say she wants to work with Shakira.

The Grammy-winning singer, whose hits like “Como La Flor” and “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” helped turn her into one of the defining Latin music icons of the early nineties, was tragically shot and killed in 1995 by Yolanda Saldivar, her former fan club president. She was 23 years old.

Saldivar, now 63, is currently serving a life sentence and is up for parole next March. Although Selena’s convicted murderer has given statements to the media maintaining her innocence throughout the years and claiming the shooting was an “accident,” a new rumor emerged last week suggesting that Saldivar was ready to move on to another high-profile client.

Last week, reports emerged online that Saldivar told the BBC that she was interested in working for Shakira, 47, if she was released on parole.

Despite the lack of source or direct quotes attributed to Saldivar from the British public broadcaster, the fabricated story was shared across numerous publications online and spread like wildfire on social media from enraged fans of the late Tejano singer and the Colombian music icon alike.

In a statement made to the San Antonio Express-News, BBC News denied the reports that they spoke to Saldivar.

“I can confirm that this report is false and no such interview has taken place between BBC News and Yolanda Saldivar,” said a BBC News spokesperson to the Texas-based newspaper on Monday.

A source also confirmed to Complex that the purported interview never took place.

In February, Saldivar was the subject of an Oxygen True Crime docuseries titled Selena and Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them.

According to KXAN, Saldivar alleged in the documentary that Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., was threatening her up until the singer’s death.

Per NBC News, Saldivar made an unsubstantiated claim that she did not embezzle funds from Selena’s clothing boutiques and fan club. Saldivar instead suggested that she used the funds to make purchases on the behalf to cover up an extramarital affair between the “Amor Prohibido” singer and Dr. Ricardo Martinez, a plastic surgeon from Monterrey, Mexico.

Days before Selena and Yolanda aired, Selena’s father Abraham told TMZ that the unauthorized docuseries did not have the involvement nor support of his family and that they want absolutely nothing to do with Saldivar.