OPINION | Views expressed in this article reflect the author's opinion.
via Apple Music

Pop star Shakira criticized the movie “Barbie” in an interview, saying it promoted an anti-male message by emasculating men.

While Shakira holds some feminist views, such as dismissing the biblical account of Eve, she recognized “Barbie” robbed men of feeling powerful 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,” Shakira said.

“I watched it, yeah,” she said.

“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,” she said, without “robbing men of their possibility to be men.”

“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,” she said.

Many reviewers panned “Barbie” as a woke screed against an imagined patriarchy.

Critics argued Shakira’s rejection of the film’s message, similar to J.K. Rowling distancing herself from transgender activism, shows wokeness may have gone too far.