Beyoncé Will Change A Capable Lyric On ‘Renaissance’: NPR

Beyoncé performs during the Academy Awards on March 27 in Los Angeles.

Mason Poole / AMPAS via Getty Images

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Mason Poole / AMPAS via Getty Images

Beyoncé performs during the Academy Awards on March 27 in Los Angeles.

Mason Poole / AMPAS via Getty Images

Beyoncé will change a lyric into a song Renaissance salary To remove the offensive term and able.

On the album’s eleventh track, “Hot,” which includes Beyoncé and Drake among its co-authors, is the word “spas,” a term that disability activists have dubbed a capable slander.

Beyoncé’s publicist told NPR via email that the lyric will be changed.

“A word that was not intentionally used in a malicious manner will be replaced,” the publicist said.

This isn’t the first time an artist has been criticized for using the term.

in June, Lizzo changed the lyric In one of her songs after she received the same criticism. She posted a statement on social media explaining her reasons for changing the lyrics and apologizing to the communities she had offended.

Disability advocate Hannah Daveney, who also advocated for Lizzo to use the word, wrote an op-ed for her. Watchman She expresses her disappointment with Beyoncé for her use of the lyrics.

Deviny wrote, “I thought we had changed the music industry and started a global conversation about why there was no place for capable language—intentionally or not—in music.”

While it is important that people be held accountable for their actions, some people have noted the higher level that black women experience compared to other artists. Black disability activist Phylissa Thompson previously said NPR How white artists who use capable language do not receive the same profound reaction as black artists.

“The grace and scope for correction is usually not given [to Black people]. The double standards for inconsistent reactions run deep. “They don’t trust black people to do the right thing,” Thompson said.

The word “spas” comes from the term “spasticity” which is used to refer to people with spastic paralysis or cerebral palsy. The word evolved into a derogatory term for people with disabilities and was used to describe “odd” or “unpleasant” behavior usually associated with physical movement.

Thompson said that the meaning and context of words change over time and it is important to get rid of the offensive term.

“It is our responsibility not only to unlearn but also to update and improve the way we communicate with each other, so that our words are used intentionally, so as not to cause unintended harm,” Thompson said.