Beyonce released Renaissance Act i last Friday. Every single day since, the Beyhive has been going to war. I don’t remember Lemonade’s release being this chaotic? But that was six years ago, and the Beyhive decided that they have time. They had time for Kelis. They had time for Diane Warren. And currently, they have time for Monica Lewinsky. Back in 2013, Beyonce had a song called “Partition” on her self-titled album. The lyric in question: “He popped all my buttons, he ripped my blouse/He Monica Lewinsky’d all on my gown/Oh there daddy, daddy didn’t bring the towel.” Monica complained about it shortly after the song was released, pointing out that technically, it should be “he Bill Clinton’d all on my gown.” But Beyonce ignored her.
Well, now Beyonce is changing sh-t on Renaissance because of complaints. She removed the ableist slur and as of Tuesday evening, Beyonce is removing the short sample of Kelis’s “Milkshake” from “Energy” too. For some reason, Monica decided this was her moment to complain about the “Partition” lyric from 2013.
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
I know some people have sympathy for Monica Lewinsky, but I am not one of them. Monica’s name has been referenced in many songs over the years, why does she solely have agitation about a 2013 song? Beyonce isn’t going to change it either. I hope Bey ignores Monica’s thirsty ass. The Beyhive is beyond pissed off about it too. But hey, I’m so glad that Monica is getting all of the attention she wanted.
The Hive been battling leakers, blogs, kelis, diane warren, crying activists and monica lewinsky and the week isn’t even over.. pic.twitter.com/En7MpNZSiq
— renaissance rogue (@soleanddta) August 1, 2022
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- WEST HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – SEPTEMBER 01: American activist/producer Monica Lewinsky arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of FX Networks’ ‘Impeachment: American Crime Story’ held at the Pacific Design Center on September 1, 2021 in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 629923175, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Xavier Collin / Avalon
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- WEST HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – SEPTEMBER 01: American activist/producer Monica Lewinsky arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of FX Networks’ ‘Impeachment: American Crime Story’ held at the Pacific Design Center on September 1, 2021 in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 629923227, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Xavier Collin / Avalon
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- WEST HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – SEPTEMBER 01: American activist/producer Monica Lewinsky arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of FX Networks’ ‘Impeachment: American Crime Story’ held at the Pacific Design Center on September 1, 2021 in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 629923229, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Xavier Collin / Avalon
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- West Hollywood, CA – Beyonce and Kelly Rowland attend the Dundas brand opening in West Hollywood. Beyoncé wears a LBD with heels as Kelly opts for a silver sequin jumper. Michelle Williams was also spotted at the event and left with her former Destiny’s Child bandmates. Pictured: Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland BACKGRID USA 24 APRIL 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: GAMR / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Sardinia, ITALY – ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, BRAZIL, CANADA ** , ITALY – Beyonc and Jay Z enjoying a meal at Hotel Pitrizza, Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy. Pictured: Beyonc and Jay Z enjoying a meal at Hotel Pitrizza BACKGRID USA 6 SEPTEMBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: CIAOPIX / FREZZA LAFATA / BACKGRID Pictured: Beyonce USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Hollywood, CA – The 94th Annual Academy Awards – Audience and Backstage. Will Smith is all smiles after THAT moment and tearing up during acceptance speech in which he apologized to everyone EXCEPT Chris Rock. Beyonce poses with Jay Z and Tyler Perry after changing into stunning yellow gown. Pictured: Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Tyler Perry BACKGRID USA 28 MARCH 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: The Grosby Group / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
I DO have sympathy for Lewinsky and still think this is silly.
I mean no, I wouldn’t like to be referenced that way either but this is hardly the most egregious example and yeah, uh, 9 years old. Come on.
All she did was tweet about it, in almost a jokey way. I do have sympathy for what she went through at such a young age, and the hurt caused by jokes and lyrics afterward. She has every right to speak on it whenever and however she wants.
No one said she doesn’t have the right to talk about it. But Beyonce is hardly the only artist who has mentioned her and making a point about wanting to change a song lyric from a decade ago implying it’s the same thing as Beyonce removing a slur from her track is not it imo.
If so she should keep that energy and ask that Eminem, Mac Miller, and G-Eazy tracks should also be changed.
Agreed! It’s for her to choose what has been traumatic to her and request someone do better and make a change.
Lexilla, I agree with everything you said. Yes, Monica Lewinsky has been referenced in several songs, but these lyrics from Beyoncé are particularly disgusting. It’s not just that they are vulgar lyrics, but the inference that Clinton was somehow the “ ictim” in the sorry saga. I think Monica is correct: The lyrics should have said “Clinton’d”.
Sorry, I don’t know what happened to my comment. 🙁
It is a huge reach to conclude that this lyric is somehow inferring Clinton was a victim in that scandal, and I can assure you that while the lyric is tasteless, Beyonce’s reference to Lewinsky is not the the worst way she has been mentioned in music, including the music of white men who have outright called Lewinsky a prostitute and rhymed they got sexual favors from her.
I took it as a joke as well. Monica has a great Twitter game.
Monica was clearly joking. Some people read so much into everything.
I don’t see emojis or anything to indicate it’s a joke? Either we take what she says seriously or we don’t. Pick one.
Agreed. She brought it up years ago and Beyoncé didn’t change it, so I don’t think it should be changed now.
And I get why people want Beyoncé to change some of the lyrics from Renaissance. Just curious how many more changes will be made.to it!
Responding to C: So she has a right to talk about it *but not a decade later and anyway it should be to these other people too.*
I understand the point about equating this with an ableist lyric, but I respectfully disagree with policing how, when and to whom she speaks on this.
Nobody is policing anything. Policing would be me stating she should be restrained from talking. I’m not doing that. But yeah, I’m going to side-eye the concerns she has over the Black woman’s lyrics from a decade ago, using current publicity about ableism and slurs to express them, and not the other artists including white males who have also disrespected her.
Wasn’t expecting the Monica slap down there at the end. Yeah, she should let this go, but durn.
I have sympathy for her but no, she should let this go.
I have sympathy for Monica Lewinsky.
I love her survivalist humor about a situation she cannot erase and cannot control.
And she’s right about the wrong name being referenced.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for Monica and have actually listened to her speak a couple of times. Bey’s lyric is awful and *should* be beneath her. She was basically preyed on by the most powerful man on earth and then got VILLIFIED in the press for decades. The woman deserves better from everyone.
She was NOT preyed on. She literally announced to friends before moving to DC that her goal was to sleep with Clinton. Literally. She kept the dress she wore as a souvenir! She was 24 years old. Not a child. She made conscious choices and decisions. She is not a victim.
Agreed. She was groomed and seduced by a man who was much older, married, and had infinitely more power than she. She was trashed in the media, on television and in lyrics. She’ll always be notorious, while Clinton got away with lying under oath. Why shouldn’t she go after Beyonce? She’s not some joke who can be used to sell bland muzak, is she?!
Monica has been annoying for a LOT of years now. She is always inserting herself into some discussion for attention and I am tired of it.
She didn’t say sh*t to other artists about them using her name in their work. White liberal women of late are targeting black women and I am TIRED.
She was definitely demonized by the press because of her affair with Bill Clinton. Even back then I thought it was a witch hunt. Monica admitted to going to the WH with the expressed purpose of banging Clinton. He obviously took advantage of a young woman an the power dynamics are WAY off but spare me that she was this wide eyed innocent.
I could not agree with your statement more. Every. Last. Word. She is trifling and attention seeking and history revising. WE. WERE THERE! We know what happened and who did what. We know who’s most at fault, but we also know who was in no way innocent and was going after everyone until someone played ball. This is the wrong way to change your legacy, Monica. Don’t go the Taylor Swift victimhood route.
Yes on White Liberal women going after and policing black women like no other. If they are not inserting themselves in our spaces and issues under the guise of ally-ship . They have inherent need to control the narrative and center themselves as either victims or the absolute moral authority. They are obsessed with contoling and waging their fingers ar black women
@Ninja, ThatsNotOkay and C: Oh my God, your comments on this matter are so on-point and necessary that I could smoke a cigarette — and I don’t even smoke!
Absolutely NOBODY has to be a “wide-eyed innocent” in order to receive sympathy and compassion.
Very true. Monica went into her role as WH intern wide eyed and ready to mix it up with the president. She did just that. He was wrong, she was wrong.
Beyonce sang a song. Period.
Agreed. She was 21 years old AND he was the president. Its so disgusting the way people STILL say that “she went in there with that goal” and “she got what she was going after”. what??
No one is saying it was non-consensual, but how do people ignore the power dynamic ?? I am shocked that there are so many people who have the same view of ML as the media told them to in the 1990s.
@Sandra So Monica, at 22(!!!) years old was not in any way accountable for her actions? Stalking George Stephanopoulos until he’d had enough and she got transferred to Clinton, who took her up on her very overt offer? The power dynamic made is all sorts of wrong, no question. But she totally went after what she wanted and got it. And now? Oh, I was such a young innocent child and was taken advantage of? No, you share some blame for your stupidity at that age. Dee(2) is right: there’s no need to infantilize that woman in one’s recognition that the media and right wing did her dirty. But some of it? Yeah, she did to herself.
Monica complained about the lyric when the song first came out and I agreed with her. The lyric technically doesn’t make sense. Bill Clinton was the one who infamously stained the gown but Monica is being shamed for it.
Exactly. She has every right to complain.
Sigh, indeed. I don’t have any sympathy for Monica Lewinsky and thinks she is infantilized to a ridiculous degree, still pushing 50. She pretends she wants to move on and just live her life, but she always and I mean always finds a way to mention the Clinton debacle. Also this song came out 10 years ago literally four beyoncé albums ago, and she has rap song muse in her Twitter bio. She is totally unserious and a clout chaser.
THIS!!! There is a tendency these days to turn women into children when faced with their misdeeds/ screwups.
Not all women.
THANK YOU
ITA this lyric hasnt aged well and as Monica pointed out, it doesnt even make sense
DEE of course she frequently mentions the Clinton debacle. It’s seriously traumatized her and she almost died and she was victimized. Clearly you have never had a similar trauma. The ones in the public eye can be particularly hard to move past, and genuinely change your brain. Just because you can’t understand it or relate, doesn’t mean it isn’t real.
Thank you SO MUCH for saying this. She was 21 years old, he was the president of the freaking united states. I am still surprised she honestly made it through everything
I am glad that so many people haven’t had to experience a situation like that but I am shocked that SO many people have not changed their view from the time the scandal broke.
And yet Monica has no problem touting “rap song muse” in her twitter bio. She is a clout chaser and it has made famous and wealthy.
Have to say, I don’t blame Monica for piping up. At all. I agree that the lyric should have referenced Bill Clinton and not used her name. Bey or no Bey, it’s another public instance of putting all the blame and shame on the woman (in her case, very young and very powerless woman) while letting the man (much, much older and infinitely more powerful) off the hook.
A towel is not gonna do the trick.
I’m with Monica and she felt it was time for her name to removed too. She has noted before that her name in mention in over 40 raps songs and that every time she hears it played she is reminded of the mistake and constantly having to relive the shame. So maybe just maybe she said enough. I’m with Monica.
I agree completely. She’s not just complaining about Beyonce out of nowhere, she had this complaint about songs in general for years. She’s got every right to speak her mind about it, IMO. And if it’s possible to change it, why not at least consider it?
She had “rap song muse” in her Twitter bio. So clearly she wasn’t that torn up about it. But Beyoncé using her name is an issue?
Meh, I’m not down for Ms. Lewinsky’s attention seeking here. And I don’t have sympathy for someone that’s been riding a dead horse of her own choosing for decades (aka she brings it up and jokes about it herself after so many years).
Monica was silent for over 10 years. Not a peep -when Hillary ran for office and was Secretary of State she was no where to be found. The press wanted her out to talk about Hillary and she declined – she said she wants ready to speak yet. She didn’t even enter the public forum again till 2016.
She actually started discussing it again in 2014.
I agree with you re Monica’s attention seeking. That horse is out of the barn and that song came out sooo long ago. It’s just too late. I could understand her inital request when the song first came out, but now? In 2022? It is purely clout chasing and attention seeking at this point?
The person bringing this back to the forefront now is Monica. If she wants it to go away, all she has to do is stop talking about it!
Yikes. This rollout is a mess. For an album that took 7 years Bey and her team sure made some sloppy mistakes…
What? The album she’s talking about came out a decade ago.
What does this have to do Monica’s attention seeking? Partition was from 2013. Why is the point here?
Because the other mistakes were mentioned in the article? I guess I shouldn’t have commented it here…
I don’t think they made any mistakes. Kelis and her issues were misaimed at beyoncé instead of Pharrell, and she did the correct thing instead of even letting it become some huge back and forth she removed the interpolation from her song. The issue with the word in Heated, they apologized and removed. All of this has been resolved in less than a week. Honestly it’s starting to feel like people are angry that this album is clearly going to be a success, and want to humble her by any means.
I like the album. These mistakes seem avoidable. That’s all.
If it please the court, your honor, point of order: Beyonce did not apologize. The statement released was “The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced.”
That’s not an apology. That’s a brush off.
@ OWLSYN, if that was the word-for-word statement, then you are not wrong. That’s too bad. I adore Beyoncé, but that’s rude.
The word was used frequently in the 1980-90s where I grew up in Southern California, and it’s in circulation with plenty of people, and they need to know that it’s wrong.
I appreciate your point: nobody wants to apologize if they feel like they didn’t do anything wrong. Bey was wrong. She snipped it out and moved on, but an apology would have been much needed advocacy for the disabled community.
Grandma was in a wheelchair from 50 on, I am disabled (can’t walk occasionally, but I do tons to keep my ability to walk since one good fall can put me into a wheelchair), and kid has a developmental disability.
Huh?
What?! She literally jokes about it all the time, appearing on talk shows and tweeting about it when she can shoe horn it in to trending topics. She RIGHT THIS MINUTE has rap song muse in her Twitter bio. I’m sure she’s embarrassed about her poor choices but has been living off this infamy for decades. Also, you don’t know me you have zero right to say because I think she is using this for attention that I couldn’t have possibly experienced any trauma. I swear see my previous comment, the continued infantalization of this woman that’s literally a decade older than I am.
She also was a host of a short lived game show in the early 2000s where there was plenty of innuendo about her affair with Bill Clinton
All. The. Time. Let us not forget that she and Ryan Murphy produced and created a whole mini-series about it all.
I don’t actually have sympathy for her. I also slept with married men at that age, and I completely own up to how I was NOT a victim but a participant in someone else’s heartache. I feel bad that she got a disproportionate amount of the blame, but people want to act like she’s a victim similar to a SA survivor, when she was just a young woman that picked the wrong older man to have an affair with. Now, every other month or so, we have to come out and decry the horrors of Ms. Lewinsky. Anita Hill is an actual victim of SA, but people only bring her up when they want to attack Joe Biden. Other than that, she is ignored. Lewinsky DOES want attention.
Original Dee I think this is the first time I’ve ever replied to a comment of yours but I 100% agree.
Hey, namesake! I’m not trying to be insensitive to the vitriol she suffered, but the martyrdom has to end somewhere? Now we can’t even joke about the affair itself? Shouldn’t it be Hillary complaining btw?
@ both Dee and Dee(2) – I totally agree, she does want the attention.
And yes, Hillary should complain, and doesn’t, which says a lot about both women imo.
The power imbalance was about as huge as it could get. President of the USA and an intern. I loved Clinton, but he was wrong. It isn’t a competition. Both Anita Hill and Monica Lewinsky can be victims.
Lawdddd I swear there’s no one who ruffles feathers the way Beyoncé does. The album JUST dropped and I have yet to see anyone other than urban bloggers report on the extreme vetting she did with producers, songwriters and engineers who worked on the album. She made sure there was no one who has accusations of sexual assault, especially since the man who wrote Drunk In Love was charged with rape in 2020. It’s also been said that she rejected two potential collaborators from working with her based or rumors/accusations alone. The good she does is NEVER mentioned.
Because they want to wait like vultures for the successful Black woman
Because she, and more often, her rabid fan base (Beyoncé barely speaks to press anymore) frame moves in her clear self-interest as “good for everyone.”
Not working with known abusers is not a “good”, is not charity, it is the bare effing minimum. Come on. Crediting every person and their mother (300 people!) is not a “good”, it’s about not getting sued. We can acknowledge her talent, that the album is solid (prefer Lemonade) and that she’s a ruthlessly ambitious person who wants to avoid being cancelled.
Keeping Partition the way it is won’t get her cancelled so she’s not changing it.
This, completely! It’s like the Diane Warren thing. Its insane that Beyonce gets denigrated for actually crediting- and by extension compensating the people that ultimately contributed to her piece of work instead of just stealing it as is so common in the music industry! And this is somehow a bad thing? Sure Jan. But anything to bring down a Black woman. Like how dare she be soooo successful, and do the right thing too!
I LOVE Bey, but the slur in Heated deserved an apology. I’m glad she took it out. Her albums are so complex that she has to do due diligence, and she does every time. But the S-word is in circulation, and it really shouldn’t be. That’s not Bey’s fault, and I’m glad she took it out, but I just wished she’d of said that she was sorry. I feel like she would have helped her disabled fans by helping other folks see that it hurts others.
Kelis was screwed, but not by Beyoncé.
Am I supposed to take issue with the fact that Monica didn’t like her name being used in a vulgar and misogynistic way?
I know, right? it’s a stupid lyric and whatever man wrote it should be ashamed.
Spot on Case, it’s the common vulgarity and lack of respect for others that I find so egregious and distasteful. It is beyond me why songwriters, who are the bellweather of any culture, find it necessary to demean and belittle any person they set in their sights as “other”, for the accolades of mean minded people who have no empathy for people who are not in their environs. All in the name of self aggrandisement and profit!!! And excused in the supposed name of “talent”, hahahaha NOT.
She referenced these awful lyrics when the song was first released. I don’t see what the issue is. The lyrics don’t even make sense to me, the wrong name was said. Someone above said the lyrics seem way beneath Beyonce and I agree with that. I don’t know, Monica annoys me a lot of the time (I agree she seems to rewrite history a lot) but in this case, it was just a low blow and YEARS after everything happened too. But then again, Beyonce and JayZ also had lyrics about Tina and Ike Turner that were…not good. So maybe this is just a pattern.
SMDH
No sympathy. Never have had it. Never will. Take some damn responsibility for the choices you made, Monica. Almost 50 and still playing the victim. And I agree with Kaiser and others. She has this smoke for Bey, but not others who have used her name in songs. Would anyone have remembered the old song lyrics if she hadn’t brought it up? Nope. No one was thinking about her until she decided to insert herself into the conversation again.
I’m with Monica on this one. I’ve always found Beyoncé to be insufferable anyway and her music makes my ears hurt. Beyoncé has been remarkably tone deaf when it suits her.
Partition is one of Beyoncé’s best songs, lol.
If Lewinsky didn’t spend YEARS and YEARS reminding everyone why she was famous in order to keep being famous, the lyric would never have existed.
Maybe she cares more about Beyoncé using her name because she’s the biggest star in the world.
Monica was young and foolish, and I do have empathy for her and I see how it could be very bothersome.
I’m actually surprised everyone around here is so Team Beyoncé.
If it were your name being used for some artists to make profit off of , surely you would feel some sort of way…..
Sweet Jesus.
I have complete and total sympathy for Monica Lewinsky. She was done very dirty and has made a life for herself despite what happened. She also seems to have a good sense of humor about life.