Online controversy forces Beyoncé to edit new song Heated.
Posted at 12:32 p.m.
Taken from Renaissance, the American artist’s most recent album released on Friday, the piece contained lyrics that some Internet users have described as “ableist”, or discriminatory towards people with disabilities. In the song, the result of the work of a collective of 10 authors, Beyoncé sings: “Spazzin’ on that ass, spazz on that ass. »
Critics have fired on the use of the word “spazz”, which evokes – in medical terms – the state of a spasmodic person, that is to say who suffers from involuntary muscle spasms. Over the weekend, listeners took to social media to decry the situation. The use of the word was also the subject of an opinion piece in The Guardian.
In a statement released Monday, Beyoncé’s team said the phrase, which was “not used in a manner that intentionally causes harm,” would be replaced.
It should be noted that the controversy surrounding Heated comes just over a month after a similar controversy involving Lizzo. The singer had used the same word in Grrrlsa song from Special, his latest album. The star was quick to replace the term, saying she wanted to avoid “promoting offensive language”.