The star faced a backlash over the use of an offensive term on her new track 'Heated’, where she sings: “Sp***in’ on that ass, sp** on that ass,” towards the end of the song.
While the term is used colloquially in the United States with a similar meaning to “freak out” or “go crazy”, the term emerges from the word “spastic”, which is used medically to describe the spasms one might experience from a condition like cerebral palsy. The term is often used in a derogatory manner to describe those with disabilities, especially cerebral palsy.
Following the backlash, the star’s publicist told Sky News the lyrics are now set to be replaced and that they were not “used intentionally in a harmful way.”
Disability equality charity Scope had described the use of the “deeply offensive term” as "appalling," while disability advocate Hannah Diviney said the singer’s status as one of the most famous musicians in the world did not “excuse her use of ableist language."
So @Beyonce used the word "sp**" in her new song "Heated". "It feels like a slap in the face to me, the disabled community, and the progress we tried to make with Lizzo,” added Diviney.
Lizzo also received a backlash over an ableist lyric in her single "Grrrls" a few weeks ago, which she has since addressed and altered.
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