Joey Badass Reacts to Lizzo Backlash for Using Ableist Slur

Joey Bada$$ thinks it is crazy that Lizzo received backlash for using the word “spazz” as a lyric in a new song and the Brooklyn, N.Y. rapper is speaking out.

On Tuesday afternoon (June 14), Badmon Joey weighed in on the whole Lizzo situation via Twitter.

“Lizzo getting flack for using spazz is crazy!” Joey Bada$$ tweeted. “Wypipo just be waiting for you to say anything remotely off 😭 I’ll be the first to tell y’all, y’all can SMD. I ain’t never apologizing to white America, hold my nuts.”

“This generation is too soft,” he added in a follow-up post. “Most of y’all never got punched in the face and it shows.”

Joey continued to tweet about cancel culture, talking about his own experience with the subject.

“Btw am I still cancelled?” he posted. “Not that I care, but I’m asking because if this is what cancelled life looks like I might just start saying everything that comes to my mind. Ain’t nobody in real life ever tell me I was cancelled, only on the internet so I’m confused…The internet told me I was cancelled because I was homophobic and transphobic and honestly that was news to me. How do y’all know me better than I know myself?”

He added, “I remember I was homophobic in high school before I even knew what that word meant. I never hated people who were gay I was just insensitive about their feelings because I’d make jokes or say no homo and shit like that. But that was 11 years ago… I’ve grown. ALOT…As far as transphobic, I’ve never been that, if my nigga wanna be a chair, he got my full support.”

Joey Bada$$, who’s prepping the release of his new album, 2000, for this Friday (June 17), finalized his thoughts, saying, “I judge people based on energy, that’s it. I got love for everybody who got love for me. Even for the motherfuckers who don’t.”

Last week, Lizzo released her new track “GRRRLS,” on which she raps, “Hold my bag, bitch, hold my bag/Do you see this shit? I’ma spazz.”

Unknowingly to her and many other people, the word is actually a derogatory term. Lizzo began receiving backlash for using the ableist slur shortly after she dropped the track. The pop star was educated on the term by upset people on social media.

“Hey @lizzo my disability Cerebral Palsy is literally classified as Spastic Diplegia (where spasticity refers to unending painful tightness in my legs) your new song makes me pretty angry + sad,” one Twitter user explained. “‘Spaz’ doesn’t mean freaked out or crazy. It’s an ableist slur. It’s 2022. Do better.”

Ableism is defined as discrimination in favor of able-bodied people. Lizzo has since changed the song lyric to, “Hold my bag, bitch, hold my bag/Do you see this shit? Hold me back,” and released a statement on Instagram.

“It’s been brought to my attention that there is a harmful word in my new song ‘GRRRLS,'” she started. “Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language. 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 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. Xoxo, Lizzo.”

See her post below.

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