Weird Al Apologizes For “Highly Offensive Slur”

Did you know that the term ‘spastic’ is considered a derogatory term for people with cerebral palsy in certain parts of the world? Neither did Weird Al.

The last week has seen Weird Al making headlines around the globe for the release of his hilarious new studio album, Mandatory Fun. Over the weekend, however, Al and his team learned several people were not laughing along because they felt the parody king had crossed a line with the release of his promotional single “Word Crimes.”

In “Word Crimes,” his parody of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” Yankovic offers the lyrics: “Saw your blog post / It’s really fantastic / That was sarcastic (Oh, psych!) / ‘Cause you write like a spastic.”

I laughed the first time I heard this line, and I am certain many of you did as well, but that was before a concerned group of music listeners informed the world that ‘spastic’ is considered a ‘highly offensive’ thing to say in the United Kingdom. Al seems to have not been told about this in advance either, as the songwriter tweeted:

Call me naive, but Weird Al does not strike me as the kind of guy trying to push an agenda of any kind through his music. It seems this was a legitimate oversight and once the press moves on it’s likely everyone else will follow. Rock on, Al. We have your back.

James Shotwell
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