Controversial singer Holly Valance has been slammed after using an offensive slur while being interviewed on live TV.
The former Neighbours actor has been back in the news after releasing a new cover of 2002 pop hit 'Kiss Kiss' this time titled 'Kiss Kiss (XX) My A**e'.
Valance made no secret of her current social and political views, using the track to hit out at 'woke' culture, with lyrics poking fun at 'pathological snowflake[s]', 'diabolical lefties' and people's pronouns. The song was created for Aussie politician Pauline Hanson's animated short A Super Progressive Movie which mocks leftist politics Down Under.
Although the track topped the charts in Australia, it didn't take long for it be be censored, with Apple Music briefly removing the song from its library back in January.
Advert
According to Metro, users who searched for the song were greeted with the following message: "The page you’re looking for can’t be found."
Valance then kicked off about the removal, writing: "As long as you're keeping people dumbed down and numb you're fine. Do not under any circumstance give right wingers a chance to have an opinion. Theirs don't count. Ya Fascists!
"This is more than 'a song with hurty words' guys. Wake up."
While the song has since returned to Apple Music, Valance has found herself in hot water once again, after dropping a slur so offensive she was reprimanded by a GB News host.
Speaking to Josh Howie for his Free Speech Nation segment, Valance, who was born in Australia, was discussing pandemic policies in the country when she came out with the following line: "During Covid was the big like tester to see… like the r****d meter. And Australia was quite high on that."
Her use of the word, which is widely considered to be offensive to people with intellectual disabilities, surprised Howie, who immediately jumped in to apologise for her language.
"Sorry for using that word, but that’s okay, but… I think some people unfortunately might be offended," he said, to which Valance shot back: "Hey, are we not Free Speech Nation over here? Where am I?"
"You’re right, you’ve got me there. We are Free Speech Nation, apart from that one word," he responded.
Why is the R-word considered offensive?
The term is derived from the 'mental r****dation', an outdated term used to refer to intellectual disabilities.
According to Cleveland Clinic, an intellectual disability is medically applied to conditions such as Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome as well as brain injuries and oxygen deprivation at birth.
The word has since been adapted as slang to be used interchangeably with 'stupid' in a negative sense, with Disability Rights UK noting that a quarter of adults surveyed were unaware of the phrase's origin.
Brenna Cooper