Shakira: I Didn't Snub American Idol Contestants  5/13/06

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Colombian beauty Shakira has laughed off reports she snubbed contestants on US reality TV show American Idol, insisting her problems were caused by a misunderstanding.

The Hips Don't Lie star wrote a letter of apology to the producers of American Idol who complained about her behavior on the 29 March (06) show.

The belly dancing singer claims she didn't know the contestants were waiting for her, and missed them by accident.

Producer Ken Warwick called her "a pain in the butt", and fumed, "She wasn't interested in meeting the kids."

But Shakira says, "I was actually meeting with Wyclef (Jean), and someone from my team told me, 'Oh, the kids are ready for you. But nobody ever told me that they were the American Idol kids and that they had a really restricted time to meet me."