Yet another celebrity is calling out Beyoncé following the release of her Renaissance album. Infamous former White House intern Monica Lewinsky called on the singer to remove her name from a 9-year-old song.
“He popped all my buttons and he ripped my blouse. He Monica Lewinsky’d all on my gown,” sings Beyoncé on “Partition” off her 2013 self-titled fifth studio album.
That particular “Partition” line referenced Monica Lewinsky’s extra-marital affair with then-President Bill Clinton. The scandal eventually inspired the Republican-led House of Representatives to impeach Clinton in 1998.
Lewinsky took this time to revisit Beyoncé name-dropping her on “Partition.” Her request came after news broke that the Texas native altered lyrics on Renaissance. Some listeners complained the word “spaz” used on “Heated” is an ableist slur.
“Uhmm, while we’re at it… #Partition,” tweeted Monica Lewinsky on August 1. The Twitter post included a link to a Variety article titled, “Beyoncé to Remove Offensive ‘Renaissance’ Lyric After Ableist Backlash.”
Beyoncé to Remove Renaissance Lyric After Outrage: Ableist, Offensive – Variety https://t.co/DzN80FdzPB
When a Twitter user asked Lewinsky if she reached out to Beyoncé or her team, the 49-year-old activist replied, “No, I haven’t. I did mention it in the first Vanity Fair article I wrote in 2014… which was the first public thing I’d done in 10 years. But you make an interesting/fair point.”
Other people questioned why Monica Lewinsky had “rap song muse” in her Twitter bio if she disagrees with musicians writing song lyrics about her. Lewinsky stated, “Because learning to laugh about things which hurt or humiliated me is how I survived.”
Another person wondered why Lewinsky has not taken aim at other recording artists that rap or sang about her in the past. The Lewis & Clark College graduate tweeted, “When articles about the 125+ other artists changing lyrics to a song cross my TL, I promise I’ll do the same. ✌🏼.”
There has been significant controversy surrounding Beyoncé’s Renaissance studio LP. In addition to the ableist critiques, R&B singer Kelis had a problem with an interpolation of “Milkshake” used for the “Energy” track. Beyoncé reportedly changed the song’s production in response.