Beyoncé put out her first solo studio album since 2016’s Lemonade to wild fanfare on July 29, but the record also faced backlash on social media. The song “Heated” contains what some listeners found to be an ableist slur, as Bey sang, “Spazzin’ on that ass, spaz on that ass.” Medically, “spastic” references the inability to control one’s muscles, and those who face conditions that cause spasms didn’t appreciate the flippant lyric. Beyoncé’s team has already confirmed in a brief statement, though, that the lyric will be removed. “The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,” they stated.
Over the weekend social media was abuzz with criticisms for the oversight. Writer Hannah Diviney even published a piece in The Guardian which lamented, “Beyoncé’s commitment to storytelling musically and visually is unparalleled, as is her power to have the world paying attention to the narratives, struggles and nuanced lived experience of being a Black woman… But that doesn’t excuse her use of ableist language.”
