Lizzo announced Monday that she has changed the lyrics to her track “Grrrls” after being made aware of her latest single containing a derogatory word for the disabled community.
“It’s been brought to my attention that there is a harmful word in my new song “GRRRLS”. Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language,” she wrote. “As a fat black woman in America, I’ve had many hateful words used against me so I understand the power words can have (whether intentionally or in my case unintentionally). I’m proud to say there’s a new version of GRRRLS with a lyric change.”
In the opening lines of “Grrrls,” Lizzo uses the word “spaz,” a derogatory term for spastic, which according to the Collins Dictionary, defines “someone who is born with a disability which makes it difficult for them to control their muscles, especially in their arms and legs.”
As someone with Cerebral Palsy, Hannah Diviney explained why she was offended by Lizzo’s use of the ableist slur.
You can listen to the new version of “Grrrls” up top.