Fans told Lizzo a word in her song was offensive, so she changed the lyrics

One word in Lizzo's new song "Grrrls" stood out to disability advocate Hannah Diviney: "spaz."

In the track released Friday from her upcoming album, "Special," Lizzo talks about going "off the deep end."

"I'mma spaz; I'm about to knock somebody out," she sings.

Diviney slammed the artist on Twitter for using the term, which she said is a slur derived from spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that involves muscle stiffness.

"Your new song makes me pretty angry [and] sad," Diviney, who has cerebral palsy, said in a post directed at Lizzo on Saturday. " 'Spaz' doesn't mean freaked out or crazy. It's an ableist slur. It's 2022. Do better."

So Lizzo did.

In a statement posted to all her social media platforms, Lizzo apologized and announced that she had changed the lyric.

The new version replaces the lyric with "hold me back" and is available to stream on Spotify, YouTube and other music apps.

Representatives for Lizzo did not immediately reply to The Washington Post's request for comment late Monday.

Many fans responding to the change said the controversy surrounding the lyrics educated them on the harmfulness of the word. In a message to the Post, Diviney, who lives in Australia, said the global conversation has been a positive outcome of a situation that she initially found angering and disappointing.

"I think ableism is unfortunately so well ingrained in our society that people don't always realize when it's being used, which speaks to the lack of representation and visibility of people with disabilities worldwide," she said. "If that improved, conversations like this one might not need to happen."

Several activists noted that the word has been normalized, which is hurtful to those whose diagnoses involve spasms. Imani Barbarin, a disability advocate with a large social media following, posted on TikTok that her spasms are so severe she sometimes gets nauseated and vomits.

Others with disabilities warned against attempts to "cancel" Lizzo. Shelby Lynch, an influencer with spinal muscular atrophy, said she instead wants this to be an educational moment.

"I've seen a few comments across the internet talking about 'Cancelling Lizzo' and that's not what we want - we want to educate her and have the word changed," Lynch tweeted Sunday.

In her statement, Lizzo said she didn't know the word was considered harmful.

"Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language," she continued. "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)."

Lizzo's decision to rerelease the song was celebrated online. The correction was especially moving for Diviney, who said that her intention from the beginning was to educate the artist.