- Beyoncé has confirmed that she will remove an offensive term for disabled people from the lyrics of hew new album, Renaissance, after it was called “ableist” and “offensive” by disability charities and activists.
- In the song Heated, co-written with Canadian rapper Drake, Beyoncé used a derogatory term for spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. A representative for the musician told Insider that the lyric will be changed. “The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,” the statement said.
- In June, the US musician Lizzo was also called out for using the same term in the song Grrrls, from her new album Special. After a swift backlash, Lizzo apologised and replaced the lyric, saying that she had never wanted to “promote derogatory language” and adding: “As a fat Black woman in America, I have had many hurtful words used against me so I understand the power words can have (whether intentionally, or in my case, unintentionally.)”
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