After disability advocates were quick to criticize her new tune “Grrrls” for its use of an ableist slur, Lizzo has issued a statement announcing the release of a new version of the song. “Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language,” the singer wrote in a note posted to Instagram. “As a fat black woman in America, I’ve had many hurtful words used against me so I can overstand [sic] the power words can have… This is the result of me listening and taking action.” In the opening verse of the original version, which dropped Friday, Lizzo sings: “Hold my bag bitch (girls) / Hold my bag / Do you see this shit? I’m a spaz.” In the U.K., the word “spaz” is considered to be a slur derived from the word “spastic” and is much more offensive than in the U.S. “Your new song makes me pretty angry + sad,” disability advocate Hannah Diviney wrote in a tweet tagging Lizzo. “‘Spaz’ doesn’t mean freaked out or crazy. It’s an ableist slur. It’s 2022. Do better.”
