Singer Beyonce Knowles has been called out by disability equality charity Scope for using an ableist slur on her new song Heated. The derogatory term, often used to demean people with spastic cerebral palsy, occurs twice in the song Heated, co-written by Canadian star Drake, reports BBC.
Warren Kirwan, Media Manager at disability equality charity Scope, said: 'It's appalling that one of the world's biggest stars has chosen to include this deeply offensive term.
This comes just weeks after Lizzo apologised for using the same word on her song Grrrls - and had her track re-recorded.
“Just weeks ago, Lizzo received a huge backlash from fans who felt hurt and let down after she used the same abhorrent language. Thankfully she did the right thing and re-recorded the song. It's hard to believe that could have gone unnoticed by Beyoncé's team.
“Words matter because they reinforce the negative attitudes disabled people face every day, and which impact on every aspect of disabled people's lives. Beyoncé has long been a champion of inclusivity and equality, so we'd urge her to remove this offensive lyric,” said Kirwan.
Even, some of the Twitter users are miffed with her move.
“So so disappointed that Beyoncé has used an ableist slur in Heated It’s the same one Lizzo used (& corrected very gracefully)… this was high profile enough that the same mistake shouldn’t have happened again So sick of non-disabled artists not recognising harm in their words,” wrote a Twitter user.
Said another, “It’s very hard to believe neither Beyoncé nor anyone in her team didn’t recognize the ableist slur when Lizzo very publicly made the same mistake a month ago (and graciously corrected it). Exhausting.”
Disability charity Scope are asking Beyoncé to re-record the song, omitting the insult.
"Words matter because they reinforce the negative attitudes disabled people face every day," says media manager Warren Kirwan and added that "Beyoncé has long been a champion of inclusivity and equality, so we'd urge her to remove this offensive lyric."
