Credits: Variety

After over a year and a half of the heavy criticism lashed on the 2020 SuperBowl halftime show, Shakira has finally talked about her performance in the event. She opened by saying that the decision leading to joining the halftime performance was a "difficult" one. 

The singer and superstar Shakira spoke with Cosmopolitan about her halftime performance that would eventually become to make history for two Latinas performing on the Super Bowl stage and also was a phenomenal performance either way. She has performed beside Jennifer Lopez, another Latina born in the United States who is known for her pop songs and is a massive icon in the Hollywood film industry. When conversing with Cosmopolitan, the superstar said that the execution of the performance was not an easy task.

She said, "J. Lo., as a Latina born in the U.S., and me, as a Latin American woman in the U.S., had a huge responsibility and opportunity to represent all different minorities through our performance." Shakira also came from a Lebanese lineage and wanted to represent that through her exceptional performance. 

"In my case, I also wanted to pay homage to my Middle Eastern culture. I feel that we did it," she said. Shakira, at other times also, does bring about the Arab side of her in the limelight as she is an accomplished belly dancer, true to her Arab roots.

However, according to the singer, the Super Bowl 2020 halftime show wasn't an event that you could pull together without much effort. She revealed, "It wasn't an easy show to put together. There was a lot of work behind it, a lot of stress. But it was one of the highlights of my career." And as she's "the type of person who really needs to believe in what I do genuinely or I'd rather pass," the show had to be something she could connect to and put her soul into to give a hell of a performance. 

The 'Hips don't Lie' singer then went about to create history with her performance and also said that it was "a great opportunity to make a strong statement about what an important part of the American fabric the Latino community is. An opportunity that we couldn't miss." The show was the first event to hold espionage of entirely Latin performing stars, including Bad Bunny and J Balvin, along with the two Latinas Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. 

However, this is not all to the historic Super Bowl 2020 show. Many critics came in opposition to the only Latina performers, saying that the performance was meant to be a "message of unity" and empower Latinas around the world along with paying homage to Black people. Given that Shakira and Jennifer Lopez come with 'white enough' identities, several critics claimed that the Latina culture wasn't entirely appreciated and the total lack of African performers, especially during the 'Waka Waka' performance was inappropriate. 

Apart from the cultural appropriation, several claimed that the show was hypersexual in essence, especially where the two Latinas were concerned. The Latina women in America are commonly subject to stereotypes depicting them as highly sexual, and such a performance that was to be watched by millions would only further the xenophobic treatment of Latinas and further discrimination. But despite these statements, the show managed to spread its message of Latina empowerment and prowess to a great extent and made people appreciate the culture. And yet, unity was a lacking feature of the performance.

Credits: USA Today

Latinos come from various heritages, of which Afro-Latinos are an important part, which then again is not much further from the Black culture. But the NFL, a team that performs at the Super Bowl, was linked with black racism back in 2019 when San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested the NFL's unfair treatment towards Black athletes. Black athletes like Cardi B and Rihanna refused to perform at the Super Bowl event in 2019 following the protests. True unity could have been if Jennifer Lopez and Shakira had brought up the issue to stand beside Afro-Latinos or at least addressed the issue at the performance. 

Many audience members even believed the show was highly age-inappropriate and not fit for all audiences. A father who was appalled by the show wrote on Twitter, "I am embarrassed for my kids to watch this halftime show... what the hell. Stripper poles, crotch, and rear-end shots.... no dignity. #SuperBowl #HalftimeShow shame on you, Jennifer Lopez & Shakira." 

Credits: Billboards

But the Hustler's star Jennifer Lopez disagreed with the notions, especially because her own young daughter was featured in the show and sang 'Waka Waka' and 'Let's Get Loud' with her mother and Shakira. J Lo said, "I think that's honestly silliness. Both of us are really respectful performers who are moms and have kids, and are very conscious of what we do. We put on a show that I believe was a celebration of women and our Latino culture that I think was really well reserved. And that small fraction of people who want to be negative about it, I can't even let in." 

She also added, "The message of standing up for yourself, being a woman – that’s what I want to pass on to little girls—everything about you—be proud of it. I'm very proud of the performance that night."