Shakira fires back at Spanish government over "fictional" tax evasion claims
The singer is facing up to 8 years in prison in relation to the case
Singer Shakira gave a new cover story interview to Elle this week, in which she stridently fired back at charges of tax evasion that have been levied against her by the Spanish government, which is threatening her with up to 8 years in prison.
Shakira—backed up by the unimpeachable testimony of her hips, which, we’d like to remind readers, do not lie—derided these claims as “fictional,” claiming that the nation’s government is attempting to use her celebrity as a way to coerce other, non-Shakira people into settling in their own tax cases.
As we’ve reported before, the crux of the whole issue comes down to Spain’s assertion that, between 2012 and 2014, Shakira didn’t pay them any taxes—despite taking up residence in Barcelona at least part-time while married to soccer player Gerard Piqué. (She also talks about her divorce from Piqué in the Elle story; it’s dramatic times in The World Of Shakira of late.) The Shakira camp, meanwhile, contends that the Colombia-born singer maintained her primary residence in The Bahamas during that period, and, due to international touring, couldn’t really be said to have “resided” in Spain, instead going whenever, wherever the whims of her career took her. (Get it? We spent like 5 minutes trying to get that one to work.)
Rather than settling, Shakira is taking the case to trial, telling Elle, “Even without evidence to support these fictional claims, as they usually do, they’ve resorted to a salacious press campaign to try to sway people, and apply pressure in the media along with the threat of reputational damage in order to coerce settlement agreements…It’s just their style. But I’m confident that I have enough proof to support my case and that justice will prevail in my favor.”
In other news that is not related to the bizarre spectacle of Shakira being possibly jailed for the better part of a decade: She also says she’s working on new music. Shakira hasn’t released a new album since El Dorado in 2017.