American singer Lizzo was forced to change the lyric of her song “Grrrls” after she received backlash for using the term “Spazz”.
Meaning of Spazz
In America, especially among the African American community, “Spazz” is a popular slang that means “wilding out” or “to react overly enthusiastic about something” or “to go crazy”.
However, in the UK and some other places, “spazz” is seen as an ableist slur due to its association with “spastic” or “a person with cerebral palsy”.
A source told DNB Stories Africa:
In the UK, it’s [spazz] a derogatory term for “Spastic” or someone who has spasms/difficulty controlling their muscles. It is used as an insult to refer to disabled people.
Interestingly, some disabled people mentioned not being offended by Lizzo’s use of the term as the context seemed different.
Lizzo’s “Grrrls” was released on June 10. The song faced immediate backlash over the term and the singer was forced to rerecord the song and change the lyric.
Lizzo also issued an apology. She tweeted:
