Azealia Banks Says She Won't Say 'Faggot' Again

Still banned from Twitter, controversial rapper Azealia Banks took to Facebook Friday to let fans know she was toning down her language. Specifically, her use of the word "faggot."

In a lengthy post, Banks wrote, "Ok, i'm never saying the word F****T ever again."

"The amount of people that get hurt when i use the word vs. the amount of people i've said it to are just not worth it," she continued. "Honestly... This isn't a cop out, its just me realizing that words hurt. and while i may be immune to every word and be thicker skinned than most, it doesn't mean that i get to go around treating people with the same toughness that made my skin so thick. Because, that IS how people get thick skin... by being subjected to name."

The "212" rapper has had a long history with using the gay slur. Banks would often hurl the epithet, sometimes when she lashed out against the LGBTQ community, in her infamous Twitter rants, and has even gone on the record defending her use of the word. Back in February 2015, the musician posted a note on Instagram, asking why it's acceptable for gay men to use the word "bitch" but she can't use the word "faggot."

The post sparked GLAAD to release a statement at the time.

"Banks' claim that the word 'faggot' doesn't mean a gay male is not true. Regardless of her intent or her personal definition, what matters is the meaning given to that word by those who hear it, and the damage it causes when they do," GLAAD said. "Undoubtedly there are gay kids who follow her on Twitter who hear this word in an entirely different context. This word is used almost universally by bullies, often as part of a larger verbal or physical assault. This word hurts those kids, no matter what Banks meant by it."

Days later, Banks defend her use of the slur again when speaking to Xorje Olivares of Sirus XM's "QutQ" radio station. This time, she linked her usage of the word to feminism.

"When I use the word 'faggot,' it comes from a feminist point of view," Banks, who has identified as bisexual, said at the time.

Olivares then asked the rapper to define the slur.

"The word 'faggot' came to me from my mother," she said. "And it was never a thing about a guy being gay. It was always just a man who hates women. You can be gay or straight. You can be a straight faggot... Faggots are men who want to bring women down, fuck with their heads, control them."

In her most recent post, it sounds like Banks has had a change of heart regarding the word.

"Calling/belittlement/abuse and its not fair. Not fair to my fans, not fair to my peers but most importantly, Not fair to myself," she wrote. "By using those words i paint a picture of myself that isn't the true me. I paint the picture of my upbringings, my neighborhood, my pain, and my misfortunes... I paint the picture of someone who is used to suppressing things, and being defensive."

Read Banks' full post below.