Shakira was one of the celebrities who joined Prince William’s Earthshot scheme as a “judge.” Prince William was desperate to have Shakira come to the prize ceremonies, but she managed to avoid every single one of the events, including the New York preview in September. Shakira did talk about Earthshot in interviews, so it’s not like she didn’t want the association, but it’s still funny that William never got his photo-op with Shakira. Now he never will – Shakira is no longer an Earthshot Prize judge. Earthshot also kicked out Dani Alves, who has been in custody in Spain after he sexually assaulted someone a year ago.

The singer Shakira and the footballer Dani Alves have stepped down as judges for Prince William’s environmental Earthshot prize. The Colombian star reached a settlement with Spanish prosecutors last month to avoid a prison sentence for allegedly defrauding the state of €14.5 million (£12.6 million).

Shakira, 46, who has a second tax fraud investigation pending with Spanish authorities, has been an Earthshot prize council member since its inception in 2020.

Sources said she had “completed” her term this year, but an announcement of this year’s finalists, issued by Kensington Palace on September 19, listed her as a judge. Fellow judges include Queen Rania of Jordan, Sir David Attenborough and the actress Cate Blanchett, who joined William in Singapore this month for the ceremony.

Royal sources also said Alves, the former Brazil and Barcelona footballer, had “completed” his term as an Earthshot council member. Alves, 40, who has been in custody in Spain since his arrest in January, is to stand trial for an alleged sexual assault last December.

William, 41, previously joked that Shakira, famous for her hit Hips Don’t Lie, was his top choice for the judging panel for his £50 million green awards. “Shakira was my No 1 person on the list,” he told the BBC in 2021. “We tried to get people who genuinely cared for the environment, but were also influences around the world and Shakira has been brilliant at highlighting the plight of the oceans. She cares deeply about the pollution and she spends a lot of time at the beach. She’s a big surfer and her family, she wants them to enjoy the beach and other families to enjoy the water.”

An Earthshot Prize spokesman said: “Shakira completed her three-year term as a member on the Earthshot prize council in October. We are very grateful to her for her commitment to the prize, including through her participation in the 2021 landmark series. The prize council members’ terms are staggered to enable continuity alongside new additions.”

[From The Times]

Yeah, I’m not so sure this is Shakira backing away from the struggle-bus which is Earthshot. I think it’s perfectly possible that Earthshot simply wanted to sever their relationship with a woman who took a plea deal on tax fraud. The Dani Alves situation is stupid though – Earthshot should have severed their relationship with him a year ago. But Shakira? I don’t know. It does have the feel of a clownshow, especially given that the whole purpose of Earthshot is “William wants to hang out with celebrities.”

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.