Big Time Rush Scrutinized Online Over New Song
A song by the band Big Time Rush is under fire before it has officially been released.
Critics say the song's title, "Paralyzed", and its lyrics are ableist. To sum it up lyrically, the tune is about the boys being too stunned to speak after seeing a girl.
The trending conversation on Twitter also brought attention back to Lizzo and Beyoncé's recent lyric changes due to ableist accusations; with many users questioning whether the public's treatment of Big Time Rush's situation has been different.
Some online observers did call out the band's song for its ignorance, but not until after it was already trending due to fans' excitement–across the globe–about its potential release.
"Thanks Mexico!!! Let's keep it going," the band wrote as "PARALYZED" climbed the Twitter trends.
Twitter user @chr0nicallycute blasted the band online for not paying attention current events.
"ur song is ableist, take note of others in the industry (beyoncé, lizzo) who acknowledged and modified ableist language in their music - if that’s not doable (bc the whole song is ableist lol) then maybe write better songs idk."
Another person, @GeorgeRudkin_, also pushed back against Big Time Rush's original tweet that aimed to get fans to hype up the band's new release.
"Actually disabled people are sick of being used tokenistically [sic] and being spoken about using ableist language. Please stop."
The song was previously leaked on SoundCloud, so fans already know the song's lyrics and total concept.
The band originally shared the tweet with its over three million followers yesterday morning, but members have not yet responded to the new criticism.
Now, some Twitter users have questioned why the controversial song is not getting as much attention as the either Lizzo or Beyoncé's recent lyric scandal.
One user, @chronicallybeee, condemned the lack of public criticism.
"the difference in the way people treated beyoncé and lizzo vs how people are treating big time rush right now.. people CLAMORED to s**t on Black women- they didn’t care about disabled people...the difference is very telling."
Many, like Ola Ojewumi, claimed that the "white disabled influencers" who called out Beyoncé and Lizzo with such intensity are now silent in regards to the boy band.
Ojewumi, along with others, previously highlighted the issue of racism in the disabled community.
Big Time Rush hasn't officially released the song yet, despite it being leaked a long time ago. As of right now, it's unclear if the criticism with affect their plans regarding the musical track.
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