Beyoncé is removing lyrics from her new album, Renaissance after she received criticism for using an ableist slur.
On her single, “Heated,” Queen Bey sang, “Spazzin’ on that @ss, spazz on that @ss.”
Listen to the single below.
Per Mayo Clinic, the term “spastic” is often used in the medical field when referring to someone with cerebral palsy, a disability that makes it difficult for someone to control their muscles.
Disability advocate Hannah Diviney took to Twitter to share that Beyoncé’s use of “spaz” felt like a slap to the face.
She tweeted, “So @Beyonce used the word ‘spaz’ in her new song Heated. Feels like a slap in the face to me, the disabled community & the progress we tried to make with Lizzo. Guess I’ll just keep telling the whole industry to ‘do better’ until ableist slurs disappear from music ?.”
Bey’s use of the word also promoted Hannah to write an essay published in The Guardian.
She wrote:
Beyoncé’s commitment to storytelling musically and visually is unparalleled, as is her power to have the world paying attention to the narratives, struggles and nuanced lived experience of being a Black woman.
But that doesn’t excuse her use of ableist language – language that gets used and ignored all too often. Language you can be sure I will never ignore, no matter who it comes from or what the circumstances are.
Ola Ojewumi also addressed Bey’s use of the word as well as the racism of the white disabled community.
She tweeted, “The white disabled community needs to confront its racism. As a Black disabled woman, I see how Lizzo, Beyonce, and Black women artists are targeted and accused of ableism. The same criticism is not reserved for white artists who use ableist language.”
You may recall, that Lizzo was also called out for her use of the word on her single, “Grrrls.”
Lizzo handled the faux pas with grace and happily removed the word from the song without hesitation.
She took to social media writing, “Let’s make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language.”
In a statement to Variety, Beyoncé’s team said, “The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced.”
Anywho, read more Twitter reactions and discussions about it below.
What are your thoughts on Beyoncé using and removing the ableist slur from her song?
