Beyonce to remove ableist slur from track on new album Renaissance

Beyonce will rewrite part of one of her new songs to remove an âableist slurâ, after an outcry from advocates for the disabled community.
The track Heated, which features on the singerâs new album Renaissance, was co-written with Canadian rapper Drake.
It contains the word âspazâ, prompting fierce online backlash.
âSpazzing on that ass, spaz on that ass,â the 28-time Grammy Award winner raps over the songâs upbeat outro.
Calls for the lyricsâ removal began almost immediately after Renaissanceâs release in July, with advocates pointing out that âspazâ is an offensive reference to spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy.
Sydney disability advocate Hannah Diviney said the singerâs use of the word was a âslap in the faceâ to her and the entire disabled community.
âGuess Iâll just keep telling the whole industry to âdo betterâ until ableist slurs disappear from music,â she tweeted.
âNew BeyoncĂ© [is] so good,â one fan wrote. âBut from my perspective I still would appreciate if artists stop using spaz as a synonym for crazy.â
Tweet from @PopBase
A rep for Beyonce confirmed the singer planned to change the lyric.
âThe word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,â the statement said.
While the original version of Heated is still available on streaming services, its official music video has been removed from YouTube as the singerâs team works to replace the lyric.
Tweet from @B7Album
The controversy comes just weeks after American singer Lizzo faced similar backlash after using the same term in her song Grrrls, the second single from her album Special.
âHold my bag, bâh, hold my bag. Do you see this sâ? Iâm a spaz,â the original lyrics read.
The song was promptly updated, swapping âIâm a spazâ for âHold me backâ.
The About Damn Time singer issued an apology on her Instagram page, saying she did not want to promote derogatory language.
âItâs been brought to my attention that there is a harmful word in my new song Grrrls,â the statement read.
âIâm proud to say thereâs a new version of Grrrls with a lyric change. This is the result of me listening and taking action ⊠As an influential artist, Iâm dedicated to being part of the change Iâve been waiting to see in the world.â
Want to see more stories from The New Daily in your Google search results?
- Click here to set The New Daily as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "The New Daily". That's it.








