It's a phrase from the title "Heated" of the album "Renaissance" released on Friday that sparked the ire of people with motor disabilities: the "queen" Beyonce sings "Spazzin' on that ass, spazz on that ass ".
The term "spaz" in English, derived from the adjective "spastic" ("spastic"), may be used to make fun of people with cerebral palsy and may be loosely associated with the terms "moron", "disturbed" or even "staggered".
In the United States, the word "spaz" is rare and seems rather to describe a person deemed "out of control" or who acts in an "erratic" way.
In an attempt to put out the start of a fire on social networks, Beyonce will re-record the offending song by "replacing" the term "spaz", a spokeswoman for the artist confirmed to AFP, assuring in an email. that "the word had not been used intentionally to hurt".
The track "Heated" was written in collaboration with Canadian rapper Drake.
Exactly the same story happened in June to American singer Lizzo who had to re-record her track "Grrrls" to remove the same slang term "spaz".
For Australian activist Hannah Diviney, who spoke on Twitter, the use of this term by Beyonce "feels like a slap in the face for me, for the community of people with disabilities and for the progress made with Lizzo".
She promised to "keep telling the whole music industry to + do better + until the + validist + insults disappear from the music".
Musical event of the summer, Beyonce released her seventh solo album on Friday.
Six years after "Lemonade", which has become a classic, fans have found their "Queen B" in full "Renaissance", the title of this 16-track album intended for a world that is starting to party again after the pandemic.
"Making this album allowed me to dream and escape during a frightening time for the world. It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little was happening," Beyonce, soon to be 41, wrote. years, to its 270 million subscribers on Instagram.
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© 2022 AFP