False notes emerged from the eulogy concert that marked the release of Beyoncé's new album. The star chose to replace a term deemed offensive towards people with disabilities that she used in a song following complaints on social media over the weekend.
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As of Monday morning, the American star's entourage announced that the words "spazzin'" and "spaz", which can be heard in the last segment of Heated, one of the 16 tracks from his album Renaissance, whose release has makes a big noise on Friday.
The word "spaz" refers to a disability that affects muscle control. It is also an insult to call a person stupid.
"The word, which was not intentionally used to cause harm, will be replaced," Beyoncé's team said in a statement relayed by Variety magazine.
A human rights activist had drawn attention to the text of the song Heated in an op-ed published in the British press at the weekend.
This person, Hannah Diviney, herself disabled, had incidentally denounced the use of the same unflattering epithet in a song by Lizzo six weeks ago, to which the singer had responded by changing the text of her song and by declaring themselves an ally.
Although Beyoncé is an exceptional artist, "that does not excuse the use of an ableist insult", advances Ms. Diviney.
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This affair would not be the only misstep committed by Beyoncé during the preparation of her album.
Singer Kelis has accused Queen B of using parts of her song Milkshake without her permission on the track Energy.
"It's not a collaboration, it's a theft," Kelis said, in a series of Instagram posts where she mostly lashes out at Milkshake producers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo.
She accuses them of having "stolen" the rights to the song, which was released twenty years ago. Their names appear in the credits of Energy, but not that of Kelis.
Neither Beyoncé nor Williams and Hugo have reacted to these allegations.
