Winner of Shakira’s Custom Lamborghini Involved in Accident
Colombian-American artist Michael Mejía, who won a custom 2022 Lamborghini Urus from Shakira in a giveaway, was recently involved in a car accident. The incident occurred on March 6th while Mejía was driving the luxury vehicle.
“I was simply hit. It wasn’t me who crashed,” Mejía told Billboard on 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.”
Previously, Mejía had revealed his intentions to sell the Lamborghini, which is valued at $280,000, potentially for $1 million, due to the steep associated costs. Shakira had also provided him with an extra $90,000 to cover costs such as taxes, title transfer, legal fees, and six months of insurance. Mejía previously explained facing approximately $95,000 in federal taxes, monthly insurance costs exceeding $2,000, and other expenses associated with the vehicle.
He is now facing criticism from Shakira’s fans. “The reality of all this is that I am an artist — I earned this car with my art,” he stated. “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.”
Mejía, who is known for his work in fine art, murals, and body painting, won the prize based on his artistic contributions. He added to Billboard that “A car doesn’t define an artist; let [fans] not forget why I won that car.”
