Shakira has revealed her two sons ‘absolutely hated’ the Barbie film – also admitting she agrees why they weren’t keen ‘to a certain extent’.
Greta Gerwig’s summer flick became a firm favourite after it debuted last July - with everything from America Ferrera’s impassioned speech through to Ryan Gosling’s ‘I’m Just Ken’ becoming instant viral moments.
The feel-good caper followed Margot Robbie’s Barbie as she leaves the comfort of Barbieland for the stresses of the real world, encountering patriarchy for the first time.
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“It is literally impossible to be a woman,” Ferrera’s Gloria laments as she outlines the conflicting pressures she and many other women face every day.
“You have to answer for men’s bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you’re accused of complaining,” she adds.
“You’re supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you’re supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.”
But while some viewers left cinemas punching their fists in the air, it seems the message didn’t land all that well with everyone.
That includes the children of ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ singer Shakira, who spoke about the film and its impact on her two boys in a recent cover interview with Allure.
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“I heard that by 2030, 60% of the world's wealth will be managed by women,” she began, prompting the interviewer to ask if she’d seen Barbie.
“I watched it, yeah," the star replied with a ‘long pause’.
The mum-of-two - who shares sons Sasha, nine, and Mila, 11, with her ex-partner Gerard Pique - went on: “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.
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“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.”
When asked if this was ‘just because a woman can do it all doesn’t mean she should’, Shakira responded defiantly: “Why not share the load with people who deserve to carry it, who have a duty to carry it as well?”
Featured Image Credit: Patricia J. Garcinuno/WireImage/Getty Images/Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty ImagesTopics: Celebrity, Music, TV And Film, Barbie