Lizzo has been criticised for using ableist language in her new single ‘Grrrls’, which features the word “sp*z.”
On the track, she sings, “Hold my bag, bitch, hold my bag / Do you see this shit? I’m a sp*z.” While in America, the word is used verb to describe someone who goes “insane, break, or otherwise act oddly,” according to Urban Dictionary, it does derive from ‘spastic’ which is often used against people with disabilities such as cerebral pallsy.
Fans were furious to discover Lizzo use this word, and even demanded her to re-record the song with the line removed. “I’m disappointed in @lizzo for using the word “sp@z” in her new song ‘Grrrls’,” wrote advocate Callum Stephen.
He added: “There’s no excuse for using an ableist insult in a song in 2022. As someone who champions women, plus size people and others whom society treats poorly, Lizzo preaches inclusivity and should do better.”
“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,” advocate Hanah Diviney on Twitter. “‘Spaz’ doesn’t mean freaked out or crazy. It’s an ableist slur. It’s 2022. Do better.”
Lizzo is yet to respond to the criticism.
