Beyoncé is removing a lyric from her new album Renaissance after disability activists and charities call it “ableist” and “offensive.”
On the track “Heated,” Bey sings, “spazzin’ on that ass, spaz on that ass.”
The use of the word ‘spaz’ is being criticized by activists who say the word is used as a derogatory term to refer to people with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. However, among the Black community, the word is often used in a different context, meaning “go crazy.”
“The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,” Beyoncé’s team confirmed to Variety.
Beyonce’s decision to swap out the lyric comes after Lizzo decided to do the same back in June when critics called her out for using the same term in her song “Grrrls.”
Lizzo originally sang, “Hold my bag, bitch, hold my bag/ Do you see this shit? I’m a spaz.” The new version of the song finds Lizzo singing: “Hold my bag, bitch, Hold my bag/ Do you see this shit? Hold me back.”
Following the backlash, the YITTY founder said, “Let’s make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language.” Lizzo added that she was “proud” to have taken the steps to “listen and take action.”
