Lizzo.Photo: Campbell Addy/Vanity Fair
Lizzois speaking out about changing the lyrics to her song “GRRRLS.”
In the November issue ofVanity Fair, the Grammy Award winner, 34, weighs in on her use of the word “sp-z” and the backlash following her decision to remove it from the song after some interpreted it to be an ableist slur.
“I’d never heard it used as a slur against disabled people, never ever,” the rapper told the magazine. “The music I make is in the business of feeling good and being authentic to me. Using a slur is unauthentic to me, but I did not know it was a slur. It’s a word I’ve heard a lot, especially in rap songs, and with my Black friends and in my Black circles: It means to go off, turn up.”
She continued, “I used [it as a] verb, not as a noun or adjective. I used it in the way that it’s used in the Black community. The internet brought it to my attention, but that wouldn’t [have been enough] to make me change something.”
Lizzo.Campbell Addy/Vanity Fair
Lizzo invoked iconic singer Nina Simone to counter further criticism she received after changing the word.
“Nina Simone changed lyrics — is she not an artist?” said Lizzo. “Language changes generationally; Nina Simone said you cannot be an artist and not reflect the times. So am I not being an artist and reflecting the times and learning, listening to people, and making a conscious change in the way we treat language, and help people in the way we treat people in the future?”
In June, Lizzo shared in a statement about her decision to alter the lyric.
“It’s been brought to my attention that there is aharmful wordin my new song ‘GRRRLS.’ Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language,” she wrote in a social media post. “As a fat Black woman in America, I’ve had many hurtful words used against me so I overstand the power words can have (whether intentionally or in my case, unintentionally).
“I’m proud to say there’s a new version of GRRRLS with a lyric change. This is the result of me listening and taking action. As an influential artist I’m dedicated to being part of the change I’ve been waiting to see in the world,” Lizzo concluded.
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Last week at her Toronto concert, she spoke out aboutKanye West’s jab about her weight in hiscontroversial sit-downon Fox News’Tucker Carlson Tonight.
source: people.com
