Shakira Reflects on Her Sons Finding ‘Barbie’ ‘Emasculating’: ‘I Agree, to a Certain Extent’

Shakira's sons, Milan, 11, and Sasha, 9, had some distain for 2023 fantasy comedy Barbie.

The film came up during the singer's inteview with Allure in a new cover story, where she was asked her thoughts about the Greta Gerwig-directed epic. But Shakira immediately turned her attention to her sons, whom she shares with ex-partner Gerard Piqué.

"I watched it, yeah," she admitted, before getting into Milan and Sasha's opinion.

“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," she said.

She continued, "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."

Although some think the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran might have lost the plot entirely, upon the release of Barbie last Jul., it was analyzed for its feminist themes, with some misinterpreting it as being anti-men. For context, the film's screenplay was co-written by Gerwig and her husband, Noah Baumbach.

Last Aug, comedian and political commentator Bill Maher wrote on X that Barbie was "preachy" and "man-hating."

"Barbie fights the Patriarchy. Right up to the Mattel board who created her, consisting of 12 white men! The Patriarchy! Except there’s a Mattel board in real life, and it’s 7 men and 5 women,” Maher wrote. “OK, not perfect even-steven, but not the way the board IN THE MOVIE — which takes place in 2023 — is portrayed. And not really any longer deserving of the word “patriarchy.” Yes, there was one, and remnants of it remain — but this movie is so 2000-LATE."