Rosalía has issued a public apology after facing criticism for comments she made about separating art from the artist when discussing famed Spanish painter Pablo Picasso.
In a video shared with fans, the singer said she had spent several days reflecting on the conversation before deciding to address it directly.
“Hey, I’ve wanted to make this video for days, but I wanted to choose the right words,” she said in Spanish, which has been translated to English. “I’m not comfortable with what happened when I talked about Picasso’s topic. I’m not at peace with what I said about Picasso.”
Rosalía explained that while some people had encouraged her to ignore the backlash, she felt it was important to speak publicly about the issue.
“Everyone says I shouldn’t make a video, shouldn’t respond, shouldn’t say anything,” she said. “But I personally am not at peace.”
The Spanish artist acknowledged that her earlier remarks were made without fully understanding the painter’s personal history. She said she had been unaware of the accusations of abuse involving women in Picasso’s life when she initially spoke about him.
“It’s important not to talk about certain things when you don’t have enough knowledge,” Rosalía said. “I personally thought Picasso was a great man, as people have said before. But I didn’t know there were real cases of abuse.”
She went on to apologize to the women whose experiences have been documented in relation to the artist, saying she regrets appearing dismissive of their accounts.
“I want to apologize if there was a lack of sensitivity on my part during that conversation with Mariana, and for that absolute lack of empathy with those women and their testimonies,” she said.
Rosalía’s apology comes after she spoke to writer Mariana Enriquez for Spotify Presenta and expressed her appreciation for the renowned artist. “I really like Picasso and it has never bothered me to separate the artist from the work,” she said. “Maybe I wouldn't have liked it so much because of the things they have explained to me, but who knows, maybe yes. I don't know and I don't care, I enjoy his work.”
In the same conversation, Enriquez asked Rosalía what quality she values most in a man, to which the singer replied, “That he is gay.” You can view the interview in full here.