American superstar Beyoncé will have to re-record a song from her latest album after heavy criticism on social media for her use of a slang word considered an insult by people with disabilities.
It is a phrase from the title
Heated of the
Renaissance
album
released on Friday that has 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"
), can be used to make fun of people suffering from
"cretin"
,
"disturbed"
or even
"bumbling".
"Slap"
In the United States, the word
"spaz"
is rare and seems rather to describe a person deemed
"out of control"
or who acts in an
"erratic" way.
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 had not been used intentionally to hurt"
.
The track
Heated
was written in collaboration with Canadian rapper Drake.
Exactly the same story happened in June to American singer Lizzo who had to re-record her title
Grrrls
to remove the same slang term
"spaz".
For Australian activist Hannah Diviney, who spoke on Twitter, the use of this term by Beyoncé
“feels like a slap in the face to 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."
Musical event of the summer, Beyoncé released her seventh solo album on Friday.
Six years after
Lemonade
became a classic, fans found their “Queen B” in full
“Renaissance”
, 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 allowed me to feel free and adventurous at a time when little was happening,”
Beyoncé, soon to be 41, wrote to her 270 million Instagram followers.