Topline
A Taylor Swift lyric that has been been slammed for being “misogynistic” and an example of “slut shaming” was edited for the midnight release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” the latest example of a modern-day music industry that allows artists to rewrite their own histories by changing lyrics or pulling songs.
Taylor Swift performs onstage during “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at Paycor Stadium on June 30, … [+] 2023, in Cincinnati.
Timeline
2023For the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), a lyric in “Better Than Revenge” has been changed from, “But she’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress,” to “He was a moth to the flame, she was holding the matches.” Swift has been vocal about her belief that women are judged much more harshly than men when it comes to their romantic histories, leading to speculation that that’s why she made the change.
2022Lizzo said in a statement she never wants to “promote derogatory language” after changing the lyrics to her song “Grrrls” just days after it was first released after she was criticized for her use of the word “spaz” in the song—called an ableist slur by disability activists—and the line was changed from “I’m a spaz” to “Hold me back.”
2022Beyoncé changed the same word just weeks after Lizzo—she used the words “spazzin’” and “spaz” in her song “Heated” from the Renaissance album, and changed them to “Blastin’” and “blast.”
2022Elvis Costello said last year he would never again perform the song ““Oliver’s Army”—a political anthem inspired by the conflict in Northern Ireland—and said he would “think twice” about writing the song today because of the controversial lyric that reads, “Only takes one itchy trigger; One more widow, one less white (N-word).”
2016Rock band Paramore retired its biggest hit, “Misery Business,” in 2016 after receiving backlash for a lyric that calls a woman a “whore,” but last year lead singer Hailey Williams said the band brought the song back to live performances because “About five minutes after I got canceled for saying the word ‘whore’ in a song, all of TikTok decided that it was okay,” she told Rolling Stone (Williams is one of two guest artists featured on the new Speak Now).
2013Lil Wayne promised the family of Emmett Till to drop a controversial line (“Beat the p—— up like Emmett Till”) from a verse in Future’s “Karate Chop” remix, saying he would not perform the line and would have it removed from his catalog.
2008At some point between the 2006 release of her first album, Taylor Swift, and the 2008 release of the single “Picture to Burn,” Swift changed the line, delivered to an ex-boyfriend, “So go and tell your friends that I’m obsessive and crazy / That’s fine, I’ll tell mine you’re gay, by the way” to “ . . . That’s fine; You won’t mind if I say” after it was criticized as homophobic.
2004The popular single “Let’s Get It Started” from the Black-Eyed Peas was originally “Let’s Get Retarded” and on the band’s 2003 Elephunk album before the NBA asked the song be “reworked” so it could be used in playoff promotions, Billboard reported.
1995After Michael Jackson’s unity anthem “They Don’t Care About Us” was condemned by Jewish leaders in 1995 for the lyrics “Jew me, sue me, everybody do me, kick me, kike me, don’t you black and white me.” Jackson told ABC’s Diane Sawyer, “It’s not antisemitic, because I’m not a racist,” but the song was ultimately re-recorded, and “Jew me” and “kike me” were changed to “do me” and “strike me.”
Lizzo performs during the Governor’s Ball Music Festival 2023 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on … [+] June 9, 2023, in New York City.
Beyoncé performs onstage during the “Renaissance World Tour” at the Johan Cruyff Arena on June 17, … [+] 2023, in Amsterdam.
Joey Howard, Hayley Williams and Taylor York of Paramore perform during the 2023 Boston Calling … [+] Music Festival at the Harvard Athletic Complex on May 28, 2023, in Boston.
Lil Wayne performs at the Amazon Music Live Concert Series on November 17, 2022, in Los Angeles.
Taylor Swift sings “Picture to Burn” onstage during the 2008 CMT Music Awards at the Curb Events … [+] Center at Belmont University on April 14, 2008, in Nashville.
Michael Jackson performs at the 12th Annual MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New … [+] York City, on September 7, 1995.
Key Background
Swift hasn’t directly addressed the lyrical change to “Better than Revenge (Taylor’s Version),” the original version of which has already been dubbed the “Misogynistic Version” or “Slut Shaming Version” online. Back in 2010 Swift said the song was “about a girl who a few years ago stole my boyfriend,” but in 2014 she spoke to The Guardian about growing out of that mindset. “That’s the age you are when you think someone can actually take your boyfriend,” she said of writing the song when she was 18. “Then you grow up and realize no one take[s] someone from you if they don’t want to leave.”
Further Reading
Taylor Swift Changes Controversial ‘Better Than Revenge’ Lyric On ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ (Forbes)
Taylor Swift Adds 14 Shows To The Eras Tour In Europe, UK (Forbes)
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Tops Springsteen For Biggest 2023 Tour (Forbes)
America’s Richest Self-Made Women (Forbes)
The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women (Forbes)
