Queen B acclaimed, already fallen? The American Superstar Beyoncé will have to re-record a song from his latest album after heavy criticism on social media for his use of a slang word considered an insult by some People with Disabilities.
It’s a phrase from the title “Heated” of the album Renaissance out friday which sparked the ire of people with motor disabilities: the “queen” Beyoncé sings “Spazzin’ on that ass, spazz on that ass”.
The term “spaz” in English, derived from the adjective “spastic” (“spastic”), may be used to make fun of people with cerebral palsy and may be loosely associated with the terms “moron”, “disturbed” or even “bumbling”. To UNITED STATESthe word “spaz” is infrequent and seems rather to describe a person deemed “out of control” or who acts “erratically”.
The artist assures that she did not want to “hurt” anyone
In an attempt to put out the start of a fire on social networks, Beyoncé will re-record the offending song by “replacing” the term “spaz”, a spokeswoman for the artist confirmed to AFP, assuring in an email. that “the word was not used intentionally to hurt”. The title “Heated” was written in collaboration with the Canadian rapper Drake.
Exactly the same story happened in June to American singer Lizzo who had to re-record her track “Grrrls” to remove the same slang term “spaz”.
“The Effect of a Slap”
For Australian activist Hannah Diviney, who spoke on Twitter, Beyoncé’s use of this term “feels like a slap in the face for me, for the disabled community and for the progress made with Lizzo”. She vowed to “keep telling the whole music industry to ‘do better’ until the ‘able-bodied’ slurs disappear from the music.”
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
Musical event of the summer, Beyoncé released her seventh solo album on Friday. six years later Lemonadewhich has become a classic, fans found their “Queen B” in full Renaissancethe title of this 16-track album intended for a world that is starting to party again after the pandemic.
“Making this album allowed me to dream and escape during a scary time for the world. It made me feel free and adventurous at a time when little was happening,” Beyoncé, soon to be 41, wrote to her 270 million Instagram followers.