Beyonce faces heat for ableist slur in 'Renaissance' track 'Heated', lyrics to be changed

After several years of anticipation, Beyonce recently released her seventh studio album Renaissance, which consisted of 16 songs, one of which has landed her in trouble. Her song Heated has faced significant backlash online for including an offensive term. Her team has now responded to ET Canada and mentioned that the singer did not use the term 'intentionally in a harmful way', and will change the lyrics.

Beyonce song Heated lands her in trouble

Towards the end of the song Heated, Beyonce sings, “Sp***in’ on that a**, sp** on that a**.” The ableist slur was derived from the term 'spastic', which is considered offensive and is often used as a derogatory term against individuals with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

Several Twitter users took to the platform and criticised the lyrics as they called it a 'slap in the face' to the disabled community. A netizen wrote, "Guess I'll just keep telling the whole industry to 'do better' until ableist slurs disappear from music." Others mentioned it was 'disappointing' to see the artist using the term just weeks after Lizzo faced criticism over the usage of the same word. Another individual wrote, "Disabled people deserve better. I don’t want to have this conversation again."

Beyonce's representative communicated to ET Canada that the slur in question was deliberate. They mentioned that the word would be replaced in the song and said, "The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced. The road to success is always under construction."

Lizzo gets criticised for ableist slur in Grrrls

In June, Lizzo was called out for using the same word in her song Grrrls, after which she issued a statement and changed the lyrics of the track. The artiste mentioned that she 'never wanted to promote derogatory language' and soon released an all-new version of the song. “As a fat black woman in America, I’ve had many hurtful words used against me so I overstand the power words can have (whether intentionally or in my case, unintentionally)" her statement read.

She asserted, “Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language,” and stated that she is dedicated to 'being a part of change' she has been waiting to see in the world.