Colombian-American artist Michael Mejía, who won a custom 2022 Lamborghini Urus previously owned by Shakira, in a recent giveaway, was involved in a car accident on Thursday, March 6th. The incident occurred just weeks after Mejía revealed his intention to sell the luxury vehicle.
“I was simply hit. It wasn’t me who crashed,” Mejía told Billboard on Tuesday, March 11th. “I was about to cross a street when a car came speeding, and the driver was probably distracted. It was quite a scary moment. Fortunately, I wasn’t injured, but it was a very [tough] moment. The car is being restored. Thankfully, I had good insurance, so the car will be as good as new.”
An Instagram video posted on Sunday, March 9th, by the Spanish-language reality series ¡Siéntese Quien Pueda! showed the purple Lamborghini damaged in Miami.
Mejía gained ownership of the car through his artistic contributions in a social media contest. He had previously explained the financial challenges the expensive car presented. Speaking to El Gordo y la Flaca in February, Mejía said that he aimed to sell the car—valued at $280,000—for a potential $1 million. He cited steep maintenance costs and significant tax burdens as the main reasons for the sale.
Shakira provided Mejía an additional $90,000 to assist with expenses, yet Mejía still faces approximately $95,000 in federal taxes, with monthly insurance costs exceeding $2,000, along with other expenses. He also faces criticism and backlash from Shakira’s fans for the decision to sell the car.
Mejía explained, “The reality of all this is that I am an artist — I earned this car with my art. I’ve had a super lovely experience receiving that recognition from Shakira. What’s happening now is that all of Shakira’s fans — who initially supported me — are hating me because I decided to sell the car, since it is very costly. So, to them, it’s like, ‘This man is an opportunist. How can he take advantage and sell the prize?’ They see it as potentially disrespectful towards Shakira. I mean, the reality is that the car is very expensive. All the monthly costs are too much, and I just can’t keep up with them.”
