Is Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen getting "cancelled"?

London, UK - The hit song Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen was trending heavily on social media on Monday for a bizarre reason, but things aren't quite what they seem.

Social media has been debating a rumor that the song Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen is getting "cancelled" by the music industry, but is it true?
Social media has been debating a rumor that the song Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen is getting "cancelled" by the music industry, but is it true?  © Collage: IMAGO / Pond5 Images & Future Image

Fat Bottomed Girls, you make the rocking Twitterverse go 'round!

The Daily Mail recently posted an article titled, "We will woke you! Classic Queen song Fat Bottomed Girls is mysteriously dropped from the group's new Greatest Hits collection."

The article claimed the song was "hit by the woke cancel culture" and defended the 1978 track as a "fun" song that explores "a young man's appreciation of fuller-figured ladies."

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It's been gaining traction with anti-"woke" right-wingers who have been sharing the article on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, as they claimed that "wokeness" had struck again.

"Record execs were under pressure to drop Fat Bottomed Girls from Queen's greatest hits," one user shared. "If there are more fat bottomed girls today, we're supposed to celebrate them, and the song is an ode to them - then what's the problem?"

"Wokeness, besides killing joy, makes no sense," they added.

What's the story behind it all?

The outlet noted the song was nixed from the group's Greatest Hits album on a new audio platform called Yoto.

The Daily Mail described Yoto as a platform "aimed at young people." But internet sleuths quickly discovered the description was an understatement, revealing the outlet's questionable attempt to push a false narrative.

Queen's Fat Bottomed Girls and Yoto

It turns out that Yoto, according to their website, designs screen-free devices for small children – not quite "young people" – which uses sound cards to play kid-friendly audio. The company teamed up with Universal Records to create an exclusive version of a Queen Greatest Hits record that is recommended for children ages 6 to 14.

While Fat Bottomed Girls isn't overtly explicit, it has arguable sexual connotations. The important context on Yoto helps make sense as to why it may have been removed from a collection designed for children.

Yoto includes a note with the album warning parents that the songs are "the original and unedited recordings," and while there is no swearing, may still contain "adult themes."

Fat Bottomed Girls appeared on Queen's compilation album Greatest Hits, which was released in 1981 and remains one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / Pond5 Images & Future Image

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