'Zootopia' Actress Facing 8-Year Prison Sentence

In 2016, Shakira’s Gazelle sang “Try Everything” in The Walt Disney Company’s billion-dollar hit Zootopia, and it seems the Colombian singer will be trying everything over the next few weeks in order to evade a massive $23 million fine and a potential 8-year prison sentence.

The popular, best-selling Latin musician has come under fire for tax evasion, with litigation currently underway.

Disney’s Zootopia was a runaway hit. With Once Upon a Time‘s Ginnifer Goodwin as hopeful bunny police officer Judy Hopps playing against Jason Bateman’s wise-cracking Nick Wilde the fox, Zootopia‘s charm lay in its colorful design, snappy dialogue, and vibrant soundtrack. The movie’s overall message of “never judge a book by its cover”, and slew of acting talent like Idris Elba (Chief Bogo), led the Disney Animation movie to snag over $1 billion at the global box office, in addition to multiple awards, including the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film beating out Disney’s other musical hit, Moana (2016).

Related: ‘Zootopia’ Series Announced For Disney+!

With the political buddy-cop adventure underscored by poppy music as well as a headling song from multi-award-winning, best-selling musician Shakira, Zootopia was a sure-fire hit, launching Jared Bush’s Disney directing career; as well as writing Moana, the helmer would go on to lead Disney’s latest pop culture phenomenon, Encanto (2021), which was also directed by Byron Howard.

Now, six years later, Zootopia actress Shakira is locked in legal proceedings over a million-dollar tax evasion case, with Spanish prosecutors looking to fine the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer over $20 million and seek the maximum 8-year prison sentence.

Deadline reports:

The three-time Grammy winner is accused of not paying nearly $15 million taxes from 2012-2014. The superstar says she has already paid about $17.5 million to the Spanish tax office to settle her obligation. Yet in July of last year, a judge ruled that there was enough “evidence of criminality” for the singer, who is the star and EP of NBC’s Dancing With Myself reality competition, to be tried.

While Shakira is Colombian, “the prosecutor’s office alleges she was “ordinarily resident in Spain between 2012 and 2014 and in May 2012 bought a house in Barcelona.” The singer’s son was also born in Spain in 2013, with the prosecutor’s office also stating that Shakira’s residence was also for her then-husband, FC Barcelona player, Gerard Piqué.

Related: Disney Imagineers Bring ‘Zootopia’ to Life With Massive Animatronic

The report ends by stating:

A statement from the superstar’s representatives to the BBC contends she is “fully confident of her innocence” and views the case as a “violation of her rights.” She reportedly recently rejected a settlement offer from prosecutors.

According to the BBC, officials are asking Shakira to present all her global income from the period in question and not just earnings made while living in Spain. There has been no date set for the trial, but it could prove to be a lengthy process as both parties remain steadfast.

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