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The Weeknd Under Fire for Homophobic Lyrics

The artist's new single, "Lost in the Fire," manages to mock, fetishize, and invalidate lesbian sex—all in the same verse!

The Weeknd's latest release has the chart-topping artist in hot water: the track, a collab with techno artist and DJ Gesaffelstein, contains some majorly homophobic and misogynistic lyrics.

In the second verse of the new single, "Lost in the Fire," The Weeknd sings about seeing a woman who "might be into girls." And that's not even the problematic part. Over the course of just a few lines, he manages to question her attraction to other women; assert that she's "going through a phase"; fetishize lesbian sex; and suggest a threesome with "a friend" so he can "fuck you straight":

I'm tired of being home alone (Home alone)

I used to have a girl a day (Girl a day)

But I want you to stay (I want you to stay, hey)

You said you might be into girls (Into girls)

Said you're going through a phase (Through a phase)

Keeping your heart safe (Keepin' your heart safe, oh)

Well, baby, you can bring a friend (Bring a friend)

She can ride on top your face (Top your face)

While I fuck you straight (While I fuck you straight, yeah)

Yikes.

Queer Twitter users used their platforms to spell out why these lyrics are deeply misogynistic—and explain how this kind of toxic masculinity can have lasting effects on lesbians and bisexual women. Newsflash, world: queer women don't exist to be objectified by men (and they certainly can't be "fucked straight." But it's #20BiTeen. You knew that already.)

Meanwhile, the "Starboy" singer and his DJ collaborator have yet to address the controversy on social media. (The Weeknd did tweet a vague message about making "no more daytime music," which...huh?)

The Weeknd is hardly the first contemporary hip-hop artist to be openly homophobic in his music. Eminem of The Real Slim Shady fame made headlines yet again last August, when he dropped his 10th studio album, Kamikaze, unannounced—and, surprise! He's still using gay slurs like "faggot." Alas, The Weeknd's double-whammy punch of homophobia and misogyny leaves an extra gross taste in our mouths.

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