Beyonce to remove ableist slur from track on new album Renaissance

Beyonce will rewrite part of one of her new songs to remove an āableist slurā, after an outcry from advocates for the disabled community.
The track Heated, which features on the singerās new album Renaissance, was co-written with Canadian rapper Drake.
It contains the word āspazā, prompting fierce online backlash.
āSpazzing on that ass, spaz on that ass,ā the 28-time Grammy Award winner raps over the songās upbeat outro.
Calls for the lyricsā removal began almost immediately after Renaissanceās release in July, with advocates pointing out that āspazā is an offensive reference to spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy.
Sydney disability advocate Hannah Diviney said the singerās use of the word was a āslap in the faceā to her and the entire disabled community.
āGuess Iāll just keep telling the whole industry to ādo betterā until ableist slurs disappear from music,ā she tweeted.
āNew BeyoncĆ© [is] so good,ā one fan wrote. āBut from my perspective I still would appreciate if artists stop using spaz as a synonym for crazy.ā
Tweet from @PopBase
A rep for Beyonce confirmed the singer planned to change the lyric.
āThe word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,ā 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 singerās 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.
āHold my bag, bāh, hold my bag. Do you see this sā? Iām a spaz,ā the original lyrics read.
The song was promptly updated, swapping āIām a spazā for āHold me backā.
The About Damn TimeĀ singer issued an apology on her Instagram page, saying she did not want to promote derogatory language.
āItās been brought to my attention that there is a harmful word in my new song Grrrls,ā the statement read.
āIām proud to say thereās a new version of Grrrls with a lyric change. This is the result of me listening and taking action ⦠As an influential artist, Iām dedicated to being part of the change Iāve been waiting to see in the world.ā








