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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Beyonce to re-record song after being slammed for 'deeply offensive' lyrics

Beyoncé has reacted to mounting criticism after a disability charity demanded she remove "offensive" lyrics from her new album Renaissance.

The mega star raised eyebrows amongst fans after she seemingly addressed the Jay-Z cheating rumours as well as the infamous Solange Knowles elevator incident on the record - but another track has stoked some backlash.

Queen Bey has been accused of using an ableist slur during one of her songs, provoking an angry response.

The derogatory term, often used to degrade people with spastic cerebral palsy, can be heard twice in the track Heated.

Now, her spokesperson has confirmed the word will be replaced.

Beyoncé came under growing pressure to re-record the song following the backlash (Beyonce.com)

It comes weeks after Lizzo apologised for using the same word in her song GRRRLS.

Charity Scope asked Beyoncé to re-record the song, without the use of the insulting term and she has agreed to remove the word.

“The word, not used intentionally in a harmful manner, will be replaced in the lyrics,” a statement confirmed, without adding a timescale.

Warren Kirwan, Media Manager at Scope, earlier urged the star to put things right.

"It's appalling that one of the world's biggest stars has chosen to include this deeply offensive term," he said.

“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.”

Scope say their study into attitudes has found 3 out of 4 disabled people have experienced negative attitudes or behaviour in the last 5 years.

Lizzo re-recorded one of her songs after similar backlash (Getty)

In June, Lizzo responded after the outcry over her song.

She apologised and re-recorded the song, removing the offensive lyric.

"Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language," she wrote in a statement.

"As a fat black woman in America, I've had many hurtful words used against me so I understand the power words can have (whether intentionally or in my case, unintentionally)."

Disability advocate and music fan Hannah Diviney says Beyoncé's new song "feels like a slap in the face".

"I'm tired and frustrated that we're having this conversation again so soon after we got such a meaningful and progressive response from Lizzo," she told the BBC.

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