Shakira Mebarak posted an Instagram message on 11 June asking for peace and unity after her appearance at the World Cup inauguration, a response that arrived as social media users circulated claims that the performer on stage was a double.
Mebarak wrote, "Que este Mundial 2026 transcurra en paz y se una fuente de alegría y unión para todos en el mundo," and added a plea focused on children: "Y, sobre todo, que recordemos a nuestros pequeños campeones que esperan oportunidades, como la educación, para que puedan triunfar en la vida." She also confirmed a financial commitment tied to the event: all money obtained from her song "Dai Dai" will go to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, and she pledged one dollar from each ticket sold for the World Cup Edition concerts of the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour.
The statements followed Mebarak's performance of "Dai Dai" with Burna Boy at the opening ceremony on 11 June at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, the day the 2026 FIFA World Cup began. It was her fourth time performing an official World Cup song; she last sang an official anthem in 2014, with "Dare (La La La)" in Brazil. The tournament will run through 19 July across Mexico, the United States and Canada and will feature 48 participating countries.
The clash between the optics of the show and online reaction landed quickly. A video circulated showing Mebarak and her dancers being guided off the stadium floor while she danced with her brother, Antonio Mebarak. That clip became central to a thread of skepticism. One unnamed spectator wrote, "¿Soy la única que piensa que esa no es @shakira? Metieron a una doble ahí," while other users posted supportive messages, including "Dos barranquilleros disfrutando la pista de baile en el Azteca... ¡¡¡SHAKIRA AUTÉNTICA!!!" and "Jajajaja ¡la amo! Siempre tan ella."
Broadcasting choices fed the debate: Fox did not carry Mebarak's performance live, while Telemundo did broadcast the opening-ceremony performances, including the segment with Burna Boy and Mebarak. Photos after the ceremony showed Mebarak with Burna Boy, J Balvin and Danny Ocean, underscoring her visible presence at the event even as questions circulated online.
Mebarak's Instagram reply emphasized the charitable aims she tied to the tournament as much as the performance itself. Her pledge to donate proceeds from "Dai Dai" to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund and to allocate one dollar per ticket for her World Cup Edition concerts is a concrete step she announced publicly in the same post that invoked unity and education.
The social-media controversy is a tension point: the spectacle of a global opening ceremony and a short, tightly choreographed stage exit left room for interpretation, and some viewers seized on a grainy moment to suggest substitution. The singer addressed the tournament's spirit and her philanthropic plans but did not include an explicit denial or a direct rebuttal of the double-claims in the Instagram message released on 11 June.
Mebarak is scheduled to return to the World Cup stage: she will appear at the closing ceremony and is set to co-host the first FIFA halftime show on 19 July at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, alongside Madonna and BTS. That engagement gives her another public platform to perform, to be seen live by millions, and to press the charitable commitments she announced.
For now, the record is clear on what she said and what she pledged; she has not, in the public post, answered the allegation that a double replaced her during the opening show. The next time she appears on a World Cup stage will offer the most direct way to settle the question for viewers who remain unconvinced.
