On Friday, Lizzo shared a new single called “Grrrls,” a fairly anodyne solidarity song that uses the xylophone riff from the Beastie Boys’ Licensed To Ill oldie “Girls.” But one line from the song has been attracting negative attention, especially in the UK.

There’s been some social-media outrage over Lizzo using the term “sp*z” on “Grrrls.” On the track, Lizzo says, “Hold my bag, b****, hold my bag / Do you see this s***? I’ma sp*z.” Some social-media users, calling that term an “ableist slur” about people with cerebral palsy, have been asking Lizzo to remove the word from the song. Especially in the UK, “sp*z” and “spastic” have long been used as playground insults. Certain Twitter users believe the Lizzo, someone with a large international audience, should’ve known about this.

Although Lizzo has yet to acknowledge the criticisms, Diviney is hopeful she will respond with sensitivity.

"I feel like it would be pretty easy to go in and rework the song," she says. "Maybe throw in a different phrase, or communicate the context of what she's trying to say, in a less offensive way."
This is what many people would like to hear. Fans across social media are clamouring for Lizzo to re-upload Grrrls to streaming sites like Spotify and YouTube with new lyrics.

"Please remove the s-word from your song," posted actress Abigail Lea on Tik Tok. "Re-record it and apologise," added Sinead Reid on Twitter. "It's the only option here."

It's certainly possible. Lady Gaga erased and replaced R Kelly from her duet Do What U Want since his s***trafficking crimes came to light; while Michael Jackson re-recorded his single They Don't Care About Us to remove an anti-Jewish slur word.

But Hills says Lizzo might not be able to undo the damage her song has already caused.

"I've seen it all over Tik Tok. I've seen kids dancing to it, which for me is the biggest problem because she's got this status with teenagers who don't know the word, and don't know the associations it has.

"So when they hear it on Tik Tok, they're going to dance around, screaming at the top of their lungs and that is a problem because they are the next generation."

Deserves to be cancelled for shaming a fast food delivery worker tbh

I remember in the SpongeBob movie that old woman called Patrick a spaz in the beginning lmao

We gotta cancel her too

She should say f*** these niggas and move on with her day

Abelist slur using B****

same people that call cigarettes f a gs btw

YOU WILL NOT CANCEL MY QUEEN

BY THE WAY

UK full of lames

Been known

Yall gotta stop making threads out of non-issues lol

Spaz ???

This won't even hold up in the Twitter court of public opinion. Maybe a 40k like tweet or two today but if anyone references this beyond today they'll be laughed at

british people suck

I never in my life have seen spaz used against mentally disabled people

You from the UK too? Dam

I'ma bout to s*az on @op for this thread

soon as i pull up and park the benz

she was talking about the shotgun

first Ukraine, then Uvalde, and now this

All this political correctness is gonna backfire.

So if an artist say imma spaz out that’s an issue?

My name Kodak Black but when you see me I’m white

I’m honestly just over this outrage s***

I don’t even like lizzo, never heard a single song from her, but literally who cares about her saying this