Lizzo is being slammed for using an 'ableist slur' in her new single 'Grrrls'

• Lizzo has been criticized for using an "ableist slur" in her new single "Grrrls."
• People are asking the singer to either change the lyrics or take down the song entirely.

People are asking Lizzo to either change the lyrics to her new single "Grrrls" or take down the track entirely after they accused the singer of using an "ableist slur" in the song.

Released last Friday, the single features a slur derived from "spastic" — a word used to describe someone born with a disability that makes it difficult for them to control their muscles, per Collins Dictionary. As the dictionary points out, the word is an "offensive" and an "old-fashioned" term for a person with cerebral palsy, especially in British English.

Following the song's release, fans and disability activists immediately took to social media to voice their anger and disappointment.

"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," wrote one Twitter user, adding that the term used by Lizzo was an "ableist slur."

Meanwhile, TikToker @itsabigaillea called for Lizzo to remove the song and only re-release it without the word.

"Words like this are so harmful, hurtful, and offensive to the disabled community," the user said in a TikTok titled "The S Word." "I know this word is more casually and commonly used in the USA, but that doesn't make it okay. It's still a word to mock disabled people, especially those with cerebral palsy and those who have coordination issues."

UK TikToker @jeffieplays, who is self-described as "disabled" in their bio, shared in a video that keeping the word in the song would mean that such language "is used by even more people in their everyday lives which causes further harm to disabled people."

"Stop telling disabled people not to feel angry or hurt. Dismissing our valid feelings makes you complicit," the user added.

As Australian disability service provider Aruma explained, the word spastic is often used to insult or "call someone or something stupid or uncoordinated."

"It's hurtful and derogatory. These words suggest people with a disability are stupid or flawed," the company added. "We understand that sometimes people don't mean them in this way, but they still cause people pain and reinforce negative stereotypes."

Lizzo did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.