The singer released her recent album last week, her first new record in 6 years. However, she has received strong backlash, as 'Heated' includes an albeist slur in its lyrics. An albiest slur is an offensive slur towards disabled people.
Towards the end of the track, Beyoncé can be heard singing the following lyrics, “Sp***in’ on that ass, sp** on that ass".
Despite the word colloquially meanining "freak out", or "go crazy" in the US, the word does derive from term 'spastic'. This word is used medically, describing the spasms that someone might have from a condition such as cerebral palsy.
Beyoncé was polemically criticised by disability advocates like Hannah Diviney, who insists that her status as one of the highest profile singers on the planet does not “excuse her use of ableist language”.
“So @Beyonce used the word ‘sp**’ in her new song ‘Heated’. Feels like a slap in the face to me, the disabled community and the progress we tried to make with Lizzo", she stated.
Disability equality charity Scope described Beyoncé's choice of a "deeply offensive term", as "appalling".
Following this backlash, Beyoncé's publiscist has confirmed that the lyrics will be changed, while they also insisted it was not "used intentionally in a harmful way".
Acknowledging her lyric change, Diviney thanked Beyoncé for her swift action.
"Waking up this morning to hear@Beyonce has heard and recognised the disabled community's call to remove ableist language from her music is an incredible feeling. Where she leads, the music industry follows. Big thank you to Bey + her team. I'm so grateful", she tweeted.
Along with Beyoncé, singer Lizzo also received criticism for her use of an abliest word in her recent single 'Grrrls', last week.
