The 'Hips Don't Lie' singer opens up on the prejudice she suffered as a native Colombian when the singer/songwriter first rose to stardom in music industry.
- November 3, 2021
AceShowbiz - Shakira was upset by cruel drug trafficking jokes people made about her native Colombia when she first made it as a global pop star.
The "Hips Don't Lie" singer didn't appreciate the "prejudice" from people in the music industry about her South American heritage when she launched her English language career in 2001 with the album "Laundry Service".
Asked if she's experienced sexism in her career, Shakira told Glamour UK, "Maybe, but I really don't focus on that, I think I suffered more from other kinds of prejudice, like being Colombian."
The hitmaker was already a household name in Latin America, but found that many people only thought of notorious drug dealer Pablo Escobar when it came to her home country.
"I remember when I had my first big break in music outside Colombia, there were many double entendre comments about what it meant to be Colombian, and usually associated with drug trafficking, all of that. It's like, we're always the joke, it was uncomfortable."
The comments inspired her to show "a more truthful side" to the world.
"I knew that there was a lot to be done and knew that I had to prove a lot of people wrong," the mum-of-two, who shares two young sons with Spanish soccer star Gerard Pique, added.
"I knew that I had to show the world a more truthful side of my country. I needed to really share for the rest of the world what us Latinos and Colombians were about. And I've always had some sort of social weight on me. I represent so many minorities. I'm half Lebanese. I'm also Colombian."
