Lizzo has been criticised for using an ableist slur in her new single ‘Grrrls’, where in the opening verse, she sings: “Hold my bag, bitch, hold my bag / Do you see this shit? I’ma sp*z.”

While used colloquially in the United States with a similar meaning to ‘freak out’ or ‘go crazy’, the term emerges from the word ‘spastic’, which is used medically to describe the spasms one might experience from a condition like cerebral palsy. The term is often used in a derogative manner to describe those with disabilities, especially cerebral palsy.

After the single was released last Friday (June 10), fans and disability activists took to social media to acknowledge their disappointment over the lyrics. Some called for the track to be pulled down and re-uploaded with the line removed.

“I’m disappointed in @lizzo for using the word “sp@z” in her new song ‘Grrrls’,” wrote advocate Callum Stephen. “There’s no excuse for using an ableist insult in a song in 2022. As someone who champions women, plus size people and others whom society treats poorly, Lizzo preaches inclusivity and should do better.”

“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,” said advocate Hanah Diviney on Twitter, tagging the pop singer. “‘Spaz’ doesn’t mean freaked out or crazy. It’s an ableist slur. It’s 2022. Do better.”

I’m disappointed in @lizzo for using the word “sp@z” in her new song “Grrrls”. There’s no excuse for using an ableist insult in a song in 2022. As someone who champions women, plus size people and others whom society treats poorly, Lizzo preaches inclusivity and should do better.

— Callum Stephen (He/Him) (@AutisticCallum_) June 11, 2022

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. ‘Spaz’ doesn’t mean freaked out or crazy. It’s an ableist slur. It’s 2022. Do better.

— Hannah Diviney (@hannah_diviney) June 12, 2022

Oh @lizzo

A VERY influential figure, using the word sp@z in her new song.

An offensive and derogatory term. As someone who’s written about the use of disability language, especially slang/slur words which have been used in schools, this is a huge step back.

Please, remove it.

— Kate Stanforth (@KateStanforth) June 11, 2022

it doesn’t matter if lizzo knew the ableist connotations of the word sp*z, it is still problematic. so many people will sing this song and integrate the word into their day to day language.

— Ru cripfluencer (@chr0nicallycute) June 11, 2022

Lizzo is not the first artist to have experienced backlash over the use of the term in a song. In 2019, for instance, rapper Bhad Bhabie released a song titled ‘Spaz’ and faced similar criticisms from disability advocates.

Lizzo is yet to respond publicly to the criticisms. ‘Grrrls’ is the second song to be shared from her upcoming fourth album, ‘Special’, following lead single ‘About Damn Time’ in April. ‘Special’ is slated to arrive on July 15, marking her first album since 2019 breakout ‘Cuz I Love You’.

The post Lizzo’s new song ‘Grrrls’ has been criticised for an ableist lyric appeared first on NME.

For the final date of the Australian leg of his ‘End Of The World’ tour, The Kid LAROI brought out an unusual set of special guests: beloved children’s entertainers The Wiggles.

READ MORE: The Kid LAROI – ‘F*CK LOVE’ review: Juice WRLD’s protégé is similarly adept at turning heartbreak into massive tunes

The show took place at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena last night (June 12), coinciding with the Victorian dates of The Wiggles’ own national tour. It was originally scheduled to take place on June 4, but was rescheduled after LAROI came down with severe cases of both influenza and rhinovirus.

After performing his ‘F*ck Love (Savage)’ cut ‘Tragic’ with a fan, LAROI sent his Melbourne crowd into a frenzy of cheers by announcing, “This next guest is the fucking Wiggles! Shit!” He performed three of the group’s songs with them: ‘Fruit Salad’, ‘Hot Potato’ and ‘Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga, Big Red Car’. Afterwards, LAROI was presented with an original Wiggles guitar.

Have a look at fan-shot footage of the unexpected team-up below:

LAROI’s three-song performance with The Wiggles was the second of its kind to happen on the rapper’s Australian tour. During the first of his two shows in Sydney, LAROI brought out local drill group ONEFOUR, who have struggled to perform in their own city due to pressure from law enforcement. LAROI and ONEFOUR performed their joint 2020 single ‘My City’, before the latter powered on with two of their own songs.

Though the Australian leg has come to and end, LAROI’s ‘End Of The World’ tour will continue with a European leg kicking off in Denmark this Saturday (June 18). He’ll play 14 shows in the region, with a further seven gigs across the UK rounding out the stint. A North American leg will follow, beginning at Lollapalooza and carrying on through to mid-September. Find tickets for the UK and European shows here, and the American ones here.

LAROI scored two nominations at this year’s BandLab NME Awards: Best Australian Song (for the Justin Bieber-assisted ‘Stay’) and Best Australian Solo Act. He won the former, but lost out on the latter to Tkay Maidza.

The post Watch The Kid LAROI perform with The Wiggles in Melbourne appeared first on NME.

Britney Spears has been granted an emergency restraining order against her ex-husband, Jason Allen Alexander, after Alexander gatecrashed the pop star’s wedding at her house in California last week.

READ MORE: ‘Controlling Britney Spears’ review: toxic conservatorship back under the microscope

Alexander, who Spears wed during a Las Vegas ceremony in 2004 – before the marriage was annulled 55 hours later – broke into the premises on June 9, prior to the ceremony beginning. “Where’s Britney?… I’m here to crash the wedding,” Alexander said, referring to Spears as his “first and only wife”.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to investigate a trespassing complaint, and Alexander was arrested on an outstanding warrant. The wedding ceremony proceeded to take place without further incident, with the likes of Madonna, Paris Hilton and Drew Barrymore in attendance. Spears was married to actor and model Sam Asghari.

On Friday (June 10), Spears’ attorney, Mathew Rosengart, confirmed that an “emergency protective order” had been put in place. It expires after five to seven calendar days, as Billboard reports.

“I thank the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office for their good work,” Rosengart commented in a statement. “This was an outrageous and disgraceful security breach and I hope law enforcement does everything possible to ensure Mr. Alexander is fully and vigorously prosecuted and convicted for his criminal actions.”

Neither Spears nor Asghari have commented publicly on the incident. The pair met on the set of the music video for Spears’ song ‘Slumber Party’, and announced their engagement last year, two months before Spears was freed from her 14-year-long conservatorship. In April, the couple announced they were expecting a child, and the following month revealed the pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage.

Last month, Spears confirmed that her “tell-all” memoir will be released by the end of the year, after signing a deal with publishers Simon & Schuster worth a reported $15million (£12.2million) in February.

The post Britney Spears granted emergency restraining order against ex-husband who crashed her wedding appeared first on NME.

BAKU-Max Verstappen rode his luck to an unchallenged first Baku win on Sunday, opening up a commanding championship lead after Ferrari’s challenge imploded at the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix. The Dutchman eased across the line 20.8 seconds clear of Sergio Perez who, ordered not to fight Verstappen, completed a one-two for Red Bull. George […]

The post Formula One: Max Verstappen rides luck to Red Bull one-two in Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Ferrari implodes appeared first on Inquirer Sports.

Hot Girl Summer is about to officially begin, and so many celebrities have been letting us know that they’re ready for the season with spicy bikini snaps, from Chaney Jones showing off in a scandalous one-piece earlier today to Kylie Jenner “freeing the nipple” in her Jean Paul Gaultier bathing suit.

Most recently, Jenner’s older sister Khloé Kardashian joined the ranks, just a few weeks after she dropped off some sparkly thirst traps in honour of her new Good American Swim launch.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Her latest bikini posts appeared on her Story on Sunday, June 12th. “Cousin pool party day wooooooo,” the mother of one typed over her upload, which saw her leaning her arm against the wall as she posed in the mirror, zooming the camera in closer to flex her toned body.

While things seem to be going just peachy on the 37-year-old’s IG page, over on her reality show, The Kardashians, viewers have been seeing some unfortunate drama with her baby daddy Tristan Thompson play out, as she found out along with the rest of the world that he had fathered a baby with Maralee Nichols.

In the most recent episode, Kim Kardashian’s sleuthing helped unveil that the NBA star slept with his third child’s mother shortly after Khloé threw him a grand party for his 30th birthday.

“This whole declaration is in this thing,” the mother of four said. “It’s this whole thing that says, ‘I, Tristan Thompson, met this girl in Houston. I slept with her on my 30th birthday.’ So I sent it to him and said, ‘Does Khloé know about this?’ Khloé doesn’t even f*cking know.”

She continued, “This is paperwork that he’s filed that says, ‘The only time I had sexual intercourse with the petitioner, was in March 2021 in Houston, Texas. The petitioner claims she is pregnant with my child and that she is due December 3. However, petitioner does not recall when I had sexual intercourse with her. Therefore, I do not know if the claims that I am the father of the child are supported by fact.'”

As we now know, after he initially denied the paternity of Nichols’ baby, it’s since been confirmed that he is the father, though he has yet to share any photos or videos of his youngest, Theo, on social media the way he does with True and Prince.

Check out more of Khloé Kardashian’s recent Instagram uploads below, and tap back in with HNHH later for more pop culture news updates.

[Via]

Charles Leclerc could be forgiven for wondering what precisely he has done to deserve such a miserly return on his mastery in Saturday qualifying in the Formula One world championship. After his second win of the season back in Australia in April things were looking good – he was 46 points ahead of world champion […]

The post Formula One: Charles Leclerc, Ferrari hit hard by latest ‘significant’ setback appeared first on Inquirer Sports.

A man fell from the top tier of Ibrox Stadium during Harry Styles‘ recent concert in Glasgow.

The June 11 show was the first European date of Styles’ world tour, with the man falling onto other patrons during the singer’s encore performance. Per the BBC, he was seen by medical staff following the incident and is believed to have not sustained any serious injuries.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said in a statement: “Officers were made aware of a man falling from a club deck at a premises on Edmiston Drive, Glasgow, at around 10.15pm on Saturday, 11 June, 2022.”

“There were no suspicious circumstances and the man was seen to by medical staff.”

There were more than 50,000 people in attendance at the sold-out show, with concerned fans taking to Twitter after the event.

“Still in shock after @Harry_Styles concert @Ibrox,” wrote one user. “A guy fell from the tier above onto the main stand one row in front of us. No security to be seen. I had to run to main door at street level to bring help. Everyone in shock around us and so upset. Hope guy is OK.”

“My 15 year old saw the guy fall and thought it was a blow up doll at first. Just horrific. Hope he and everyone else are ok. Horrible ending to a very special night,” added another.

My 15 year old saw the guy fall and thought it was a blow up doll at first. Just horrific. Hope he and everyone else are ok. Horrible ending to a very special night

— adele mcgrath (@Adelevista) June 12, 2022

Styles and his team are yet to comment on the incident.

The singer’s run of Love on Tour shows were originally slated for 2020, before being postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Styles announced his rescheduled UK and European Love on Tour dates in January this year, with 24 shows planned for June and July.

The post Man falls from top tier of stadium during Harry Styles show in Glasgow appeared first on NME.

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Roddy Ricch may not have been able to bring some of his biggest hits to the stage at this year’s Governors Ball Festival due to his unexpected arrest by the New York Police Department, but after being released this afternoon, the 23-year-old still had time to make it to his Hot 97 Summer Jam show.

The City Girls, Shenseea, Cardi B, Yung Bleu, Saucy Santana, and NLE Choppa were among those also tapped to perform at the New Jersey event, though Ricch’s performance was one of the most highly anticipated as fans firstly weren’t sure if he would even show, and secondly, eagerly waited to see if he would address his arrest.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Much to the crowd’s amusement, he did. “New Jersey, you ready?” he asked the audience, who loudly cheered in response. “Can I hear everybody in here say ‘F*ck NYPD,'” he added next, encouraging patrons to chant along with him before he launched into song.

During his set, the Compton native sent another crystal-clear message while playing his collab with DaBaby, “ROCKSTAR,” emphasizing the lyrics “Brand new Lamborghini, f*ck a cop car / With the pistol on my hip like I’m a cop (Yeah, yeah, yeah) / Have you ever met a real n*gga rockstar? (Yeah) / This ain’t no guitar, bitch, this a Glock (Woo).”

Following his release from jail, cameras caught Roddy looking as happy (and stylish) as ever, likely relieved to be a free man once again and get back to his art.

Read our report on the Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial artist’s Governors Ball arrest here, and tap back in with HNHH later for more hip-hop news updates.