Lizzo Faces Backlash for Lyric Choice in New Song ‘Grrrls’: ‘It’s an Ableist Slur’
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Lizzo unveiled her new single “Grrrls” on Friday (June 10), but the track isn’t getting the reaction she probably anticipated.
Over the weekend, fans flocked to social media to call out the singer for her choice to use the word “spaz” in the opening verse, viewing it as a derogatory term. (“Hold my bag, b—h/ Hold my bag/ Do you see this s–t?/ I’m a spaz/ I’m about to knock somebody out/ Yo, where my best friend?/ She the only one I know to talk me off the deep end,” she sings over the sample of “Girls” by the Beastie Boys.) Billboard has reached out for comment.
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“Hey @lizzo my disability Cerebral Palsy is literally classified as Spastic Diplegia (where spasticity refers to unending painful tightness in my legs) your new song makes me pretty angry + sad. ‘Spaz’ doesn’t mean freaked out or crazy. It’s an ableist slur. It’s 2022. Do better,” one disappointed listener wrote, while another tweeted, “It doesn’t matter if lizzo knew the ableist connotations of the word sp*z, it is still problematic. so many people will sing this song and integrate the word into their day to day language.”
Others even petitioned Lizzo directly to remove the word from the song altogether. “Hey @lizzo please remove the word ‘spaz’ from your new song because it’s a slur and really offensive to the disabled community,” one wrote, signing off, “From a disappointed fan.”
Arriving on the heels of Top 10 hit “About Damn Time” and its viral TikTok dance, “Grrrls” serves as the second single off Lizzo’s forthcoming studio album Special, which will be released July 15 via Nice Life Recording Company/Atlantic Records.
See more reactions about the lyrics to “Grrrls” below.
Hey @lizzo my disability Cerebral Palsy is literally classified as Spastic Diplegia (where spasticity refers to unending painful tightness in my legs) your new song makes me pretty angry + sad. ‘Spaz’ doesn’t mean freaked out or crazy. It’s an ableist slur. It’s 2022. Do better.
— Hannah Diviney (@hannah_diviney) June 12, 2022
Hey @lizzo please remove the word "spaz" from your new song because it's a slur and really offensive to the disabled community
From a disappointed fan 😔💔
— Shelby 🖤 (@Shelbykinsxo) June 10, 2022
Y’all, I’m not defending LIZZO I’m literally fucking disabled in multiple ways (autistic and chronically I’ll) I’ve been called spastic and spaz ALL MY LIFE!, hearing her use the slur hurt me BUT I just wanted to acknowledge it has another meaning in AAVE
— Hayley ✨🏴☠️ OFMD (@zittiblackbeard) June 12, 2022
Nice. New @lizzo song pops up on my discover playlist, where she uses the word spaz in the first 25 seconds. Bar is truly in hell, 2022 and still asking people not to use slurs at Lizzo's big age. #Ableism
— Éabha Wall (@itsme_eabha) June 11, 2022
@lizzo I love you but please remove the ableist slur “spaz” from your song. It offends the disability community that I am a part of
— Kayla Rodriguez (@theKwomanrules) June 11, 2022
Oh @lizzo
A VERY influential figure, using the word sp@z in her new song.
An offensive and derogatory term. As someone who’s written about the use of disability language, especially slang/slur words which have been used in schools, this is a huge step back.
Please, remove it.
— Kate Stanforth (@KateStanforth) June 11, 2022
Dear @lizzo
Spaz or spastic are horrible words. The history of this term is deeply upsetting, especially when you discover it was appropriated from @scope, who were then forced to change their original name as a result.
Please remove ableist slurs from your music 💜
— Dermot Devlin (@castleDD) June 11, 2022
lizzo’s new song…. i thought we as a society had stopped using the word “spaz” ?? *sigh*
— Jo Bradley (@JoLucyBradley) June 11, 2022
it doesn’t matter if lizzo knew the ableist connotations of the word sp*z, it is still problematic. so many people will sing this song and integrate the word into their day to day language.
— Ru 🌸 cripfluencer ✨ (@chr0nicallycute) June 11, 2022
