Source: Robert Gauthier / Getty
Beyoncé has ushered in a Renaissance—but it appears not everyone is thrilled.
Following backlash and criticism from disability advocates, Bey announced that she will remove the word “spaz” from one of her new songs, “Heated.”
Used twice in the spicy song, Queen Bey was heard singing, “Spazzin’ on that ass, spaz on that ass.” Though the word was ostensibly used in a colloquial way to mean going crazy or wild, “spaz” — which is derived from “spastic” — has a history of being used as a slur for those with disabilities, especially cerebral palsy.
According to a statement released to Rolling Stone, Beyonce’s team pledged to change the lyric saying:
“The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced.”
Staying true to her word, the controversial “Heated” lyric has been changed; as of publication, the updated version of the song on streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify, contains the updated verbiage “Blastin’ and “blast.”.
The most latest round of criticism comes from former White House intern turned controversial figure, Monica Lewinsky, who took to Twitter to call out the singer on another slur in her hit song, “Partition.”
Quoting a story written about Renaissance, and said “uhmm, while we’re at it… #Partition,”–Lewinksy is referring to the line, “He Monica Lewinsky’d all on my gown,” in the song “Partition.” Of course, the Beyhive swiftly reacted with fury, flooding Lewinsky’s quoted tweets with over 3.1k tweets slamming the 49-year-old.
uhmm, while we’re at it… #Partition
Beyoncé to Remove Renaissance Lyric After Outrage: Ableist, Offensive – Variety https://t.co/DzN80FdzPB
— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) August 1, 2022
After being questioned by fans regarding whether or not she actually reached out to Beyonce and her team over the mention, instead of social media, Lewinsky responded that she did not reach out to Bey or her team in regard to the lyrics.
no, i haven’t. i did mention it in the first vanity fair article i wrote in 2014… which was the first public thing i’d done in 10 years. but you make an interesting/fair point…
— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) August 2, 2022
Lyrically speaking, following being called out for theft by Kelis for the sampled use of “Milkshake” on the song “Energy”, Beyonce has responded.
As previously reported, on Friday (July 29), Kelis took to social media sharing with fans that she was blindsided by learning that a track from the Houston superstar’s album sampled one of singer and chef’s tracks.
The track “Energy” previously sampled the track “Milkshake”, which was produced by Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes and appeared on Kelis’ album, Tasty.
“My mind is blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance of all 3 parties involved is astounding,” Kelis wrote via her @bountyandfull Instagram account on the @Kelistrends fan page.
According to Variety, since the backlash, Beyoncé’s Renaissance has undergone a few post-release cosmetic changes, the outlet confirmed that Kelis’ “Milkshake” sample can no longer be heard on the track on Spotify — although the sample still remains on Apple Music, for now.
