Beyoncé referenced Monica Lewinsky in ‘Partition’. (Parkwood/Getty)
Monica Lewinsky wants Beyoncé to remove a reference from her song “Partition”.
Lewinsky spoke out after Beyoncé revised her song “Heated”, from the new album Renaissance, to remove an ableist slur.
“Uhmm, while we’re at it,” Lewinsky tweeted. She named Beyoncé’s 2013 song “Partition”, which includes the lyric: “He popped all my buttons and he ripped my blouse, he Monica Lewinsky’d all on my gown”.
Beyoncé has yet to publicly respond to Lewinsky – but this isn’t the first time Lewinsky, an anti-bullying activist, has brought the issue up.
Lewinsky thanked Beyoncé for the shout-out after “Partition” was released as part of the singer’s surprise self-titled album, but suggested an amendment to the lyric.
“Beyoncé’s latest hit gives me a shout-out. Thanks… but if we’re verbing, I think you meant “Bill Clinton’d all on my gown,” not “Monica Lewinsky’d,”‘ she wrote in a 2014 Vanity Fair article.
uhmm, while we’re at it… #Partition
Beyoncé to Remove Renaissance Lyric After Outrage: Ableist, Offensive – Variety https://t.co/DzN80FdzPB
— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) August 1, 2022
After she called out the song again following Renaissance’s release, a Twitter user asked Lewinsky if she had reached out to Beyoncé’s team.
She responded: “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…”
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…
— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) August 2, 2022
Twitter users rationalised that if Beyoncé could change the offensive lyric on “Heated” then she could do the same for “Partition”.
“Where is the empathy? Where is the grace, people? She complained nicely in 2014 and now again, when it’s clear Beyoncé *could* change that offensive (and inaccurate) use of her name. The number of people gleefully hating on her here is just depressing af,” one user wrote.
Other users pointed out that Lewinsky had “rap song muse” in her Twitter bio, suggesting this undermined her stance.
Lewinsky said that it was a joke to help her “deal with painful or humiliating things”.
actually, it’s how i’ve learned to deal with painful or humiliating things… i find the humor. eg in my ted talk. https://t.co/7XyRM323PY
— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) August 2, 2022
Beyoncé released Renaissance on 29 July, and while the album has enjoyed rave reviews it has also generated some controversy.
The track “Heated” was updated after release, on 1 August, to remove a reference to an ableist slur.
On 3 August, the track “Energy” was amended to remove an interpolation of Kelis’ “Milkshake” after the singer accused Beyoncé of “stealing” her song (Beyoncé had credited the song’s writers, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo on the track – Kelis has previously accused the duo of “tricking” her into giving up publishing rights for her first two albums).