ET is taking a deeper look into Shakira's viral tongue wag during her Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show performance.
Welcome to Shakira's Official YouTube Channel. Bienvenidos al Canal Oficial de Shakira en Youtube. Colombian singer J Balvin is facing an intense Twitter backlash for his criticism of pop star Shakira, whose diehard fans are rushing to defend. Thursday morning saw the artist's name trending. Music video by Shakira performing Inevitable. (C) 1999 Sony Music Latin.SUBSCRIBE HERE - AT.
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While the coronavirus pandemic is keeping people indoors, students are continuing their studies through online classes from the safety of their homes. Global superstar Shakira is also keeping up with her schoolwork at home, as she celebrated her graduation from a Penn course on Thursday.
Shakira took to Instagram and Twitter to share a photo of her Coursera certificate of completion awarded to her after four weeks of taking Ancient Philosophy: Plato and His Predecessors, taught by Philosophy professor and undergraduate chair Susan Sauvé Meyer.
I just graduated from my 4 week Ancient Philosophy course with the University of Pennsylvania (@Penn). I know... my hobbies are very impractical, but it took a lot of hours after the kids were asleep. Thank you Plato and predecessors for all the 'fun' over the past month! pic.twitter.com/cFTCXDjliX— Shakira (@shakira) April 23, 2020
“I just graduated from my 4 week Ancient Philosophy course with the University of Pennsylvania (@Penn). I know … my hobbies are very impractical, but it took a lot of hours after the kids were asleep. Thank you Plato and predecessors for all the ‘fun’ over the past month!” Shakira wrote.
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Coursera is an online learning platform that offers course, degree, and certificate programs from nearly 200 universities and companies. Penn offers 59 courses through Coursera in a variety of fields such as business, law, design, and robotics. All courses are free to view, but cost $49 to receive an official certificate of completion.
The philosophy course was first available on Coursera in 2016 and 70,246 students have since enrolled, according to the Coursera website.
Shakira’s husband and Barcelona soccer player Gerard Piqué posted a video to his Instagram and Twitter accounts on March 25 of the ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ singer watching and taking notes on the lecture.
Shakira reposted her husband’s video on Twitter and Instagram a couple days later with the caption, “Just a benign ancient philosophy course at @Penn to make the confinement productive. I have to be able to think about other things rather than Paw Patrol!!”
Penn students expressed their excitement by posting comments on Shakira's March Instagram video which ranged from, “We classmates [with] frickin Shakira,' 'Go Quakers!' to “She’s [about] to ruin the curve :(.”
Meyer told The Daily Pennsylvanian she was also excited that Shakira was taking her course.
“It was great to see she was taking the course but even greater to see she was taking notes and taking it seriously,' Meyer told the DP. 'It warms a teacher's heart.”
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The Super Bowl LIV halftime show, which featured performances by musical icons Shakira and Jennifer Lopez this year, was major in so many ways. JLo pulled out a huge cape with the American flag on one side and the Puerto Rican flag on the other! Shakira played the drums like a badass! They both danced their asses off! No doubt, it was a moment of representation for Latinx people, especially Latina women, and female entertainers over 40 (Shakira is 43, Lopez is 50). The not-so-great part? The Shakira meme that came out of it.
People’s reactions to one part of Shakira’s performance got pretty out of hand. As the Grammy-winning singer started performing her classic “Hips Don’t Lie,” she stuck her tongue out toward one of the cameras and let out a cry.
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Shakira! pic.twitter.com/axmZP4z1xP
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) February 3, 2020
Ig Shakira
Many were quick to pounce, asking what the Shakira “tongue thing” was; countless Shakira memes soon followed. Shakira was compared to a turkey pardoned on Thanksgiving and a toddler who doesn’t want to get ready for bed, among other things.
Omg Shakira what the heck was that tongue thing #SuperBowlLIVpic.twitter.com/LNOJ5z1aAo
— Sarah (@legs2yaya) February 3, 2020
the turkey who gets pardoned on Thanksgiving https://t.co/897qyYtRRm
— Jordan Moreau (@jordanmoreau_) February 3, 2020
When I ask my 2-year-old if he’s ready for bed https://t.co/WiyA7y1p5n
Jlo Shakira Twitter
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) February 3, 2020
Who doesn’t love a good-natured meme? Well, as many others on Twitter quickly pointed out, it seems the Shakira memes were—perhaps unintentionally—culturally insensitive; Shakira’s “tongue thing” was in fact likely one of the musician’s many tributes to her Colombian-Lebanese heritage. “Quit the stupid jokes,” said one person. “This is called zaghrouta (a.k.a. ululation in English). It is a joyful sound Arabic speakers make when cheering & celebrating.” Others connected Shakira’s “tongue flicking” to the Carnaval de Barranquilla, which is held in Colombia.
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Twitter Shakira Jlo
I really did not plan to wade into Super Bowl twitter but this is Shakira’s very tongue-y attempt at zaghrouta or a helhoola. It’s a sound used by Arabs to express excitement or celebration — it’s not a turkey call. https://t.co/APOw0P4rdD
Shakira Twitter Handle
— Dahlia (@dahliabazzaz) February 3, 2020
FYI: Shakira’s “tongue flicking” is a cultural reference to Barranquilla’s Carnaval and a celebration of Colombia’s culture.
Hey guys? Your ignorance is showing 🥴 #PepsiHalftime
— 𝚔𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊❤️ (@katalina_delmar) February 3, 2020
A lecturer at the University of California Berkeley told the Washington Post that zaghrouta has a “long-standing cultural presence” in places like Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, where Shakira’s father is from. “It definitely has a long history without putting a particular date to it,” he said. “So much so that no wedding or celebration would be complete without having a zaghrouta expression taking place.”
Shakira Twitter Rose Blackpink
Lots of folks were thrilled to see Shakira and JLo celebrating their cultural roots on one of the biggest stages in America. As more people of colour use their platforms to showcase their heritage, hopefully we (i.e. Twitter) can learn to start thinking before poking fun.
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