Beyoncé will alter a lyric from a song on her new album Renaissance after it was labelled as “ableist”. A lot of fans were angry and upset at the singer for her use of the term “spaz”.
In the song, Beyoncé sings, “Sp-zzin’ on that ass, sp-z on that ass / Fan me quick, girl, I need my glass.”
The lyric in her song Heated , where she uses the offensive term will be removed. A representative for Beyoncé confirmed the change in a statement.
“The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,” the statement says.
Why is there backlash over the ‘Heated’ lyrics?
The use of ableist language, even colloquially, is harmful and insulting to the disabled community. The offensive term originates from the word “spastic”. It refers to the medical condition “spastic diplegia”, a form of cerebral palsy that affects motor control in the legs.
Using the derogatory term is demeaning to people who experience spasms, which can be incredibly painful and disruptive to daily life. Imani Barbarin, who has spastic diplegia, explained why on her Twitter account.
Ok, so here’s what I have to say about Sp*z as a word: if you’re going to call yourself one, really go all in… pic.twitter.com/9VpwjK2lkT
— Imani Barbarin, MAGC | Crutches&Spice ♿️ (@Imani_Barbarin) June 13, 2022
Beyoncé’s lyric was criticized by disability activists online, including advocate writer Hannah Diviney. She wrote that the lyric is “ableist” in an opinion piece published by The Guardian.
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 💔
— Hannah Diviney (@hannah_diviney) July 30, 2022
The disability equality charity Scope also spoke out against Beyoncé’s use of the word, less than a month after it did the same for American singer-songwriter Lizzo.
Disappointing that another artist is using an offensive term in their song so soon after it was pointed out how hurtful the word is.
— Sense (@sensecharity) August 1, 2022
Hoping Beyonce follows Lizzo’s example and changes the track.
We need more education to improve awareness of disability.https://t.co/pfDcFNdpKI
Why did Beyoncé and Lizzo change the same lyrics on their albums?
Beyoncé’s move to alter the lyric from her song came just weeks after Lizzo removed the same word from her single “GRRRLS” in June.
The song “GRRRLS” had originally featured abelist lyrics, which also included the offensive term “spaz”.
“Hold my bag, bitch, hold my bag / Do you see this s—? I’m a sp-z.”
After apologising and releasing a statement, Lizzo changed the GRRRLS track on her new album Special. She also added that she was “proud” to have taken the steps to “listen and take action”.
“It’s been brought to my attention that there is a harmful word in my new song ‘GRRRLS.’ Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language,” Lizzo wrote in a statement.
The disability advocate Hannah Diviney also tweeted at the time about Lizzo’s hurtful lyrics.
Hey @lizzo my disability Cerebral Palsy is literally classified as Spastic Diplegia (where spasticity refers to unending painful tightness in my legs) your new song makes me pretty angry + sad. ‘Spaz’ doesn’t mean freaked out or crazy. It’s an ableist slur. It’s 2022. Do better.
— Hannah Diviney (@hannah_diviney) June 12, 2022