Beyoncé Is Changing a 'Renaissance' Lyric After 'Ableist Slur' Accusations

Just days after dropping her seventh studio album, Renaissance, Beyoncé is making some edits. Like Lizzo who faced similar complaints earlier this summer, Beyoncé will be changing the lyrics on one of the cuts following criticism over language considered ableist.

The song "Heated," which is one of the more popular tracks on the new album, left a lot of fans outraged and disappointed for her use of the word "spaz." In the outro verse she sings: "Spazzin' on that ass, spaz on that ass." She uses it in the sense of being wild, or energetic, however, the term is actually an informal version of the medical term "spastic," which is a disability of a loss of control over muscles. The term is also often used as a slur to people with spastic cerebral palsy.

Beyoncé faced criticism from disability rights advocate, Hannah Diviney, who was also responsible for bringing Lizzo's attention to the use of the word and subsequently, inspired the lyric change. "I thought we’d changed the music industry and started a global conversation about why ableist language–intentional or not–has no place in music. But I guess I was wrong, because now Beyoncé has gone and done exactly the same thing," she wrote in an essay for The Guardian.

In a statement to Variety, the singer's team confirmed that the lyric will be removed. "The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced," her team said in a statement.

In "Grrrls" off her new album, Special, Lizzo faced a similar issue. Her original lyric originally went, "Do you see this shit? I’m a spaz." Upon having it brought to her attention, she too removed and rerecorded her song. The song lyrics now say "Do you see this shit? Hold me back." She also issued a statement addressing the issue. "Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language,” Lizzo tweeted at the time, "As an influential artist I’m dedicated to being part of the change I’ve been waiting to see in the world."

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