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Royel Otis, the Australian pop duo consisting of Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, released their latest track, titled Moody, on May 9, 2025. According to Billboard, the single was written by Maddell and Pavlovic along with Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Allen. Since its release, however, the song has attracted much criticism. This criticism has mostly been due to the song's seemingly "misogynistic" lyrics.
A couple of lines of the song, in particular, garnered attention amongst listeners. According to NME, the allegedly questionable lyrics read:
"She's always givin' it to me/ Late nights, she always accusin'/ Last time, she said she would kill me/ My girl's a b*tch when she's moody."
Fans call it sexist, band says it's just one perspective 🎤💬
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Meanwhile, NME received an email from Kay and Hughes Art and Entertainment Lawyers, who quoted the duo's management.
"This song is written from a specific perspective, it is not intended to convey a broader view or standpoint about women in general. We apologise if anyone understood those lyrics otherwise," the email read.
As per the statement, the latest single by the duo should simply be considered a song that was not an overall representation of women in general. Since its upload on YouTube more than two weeks ago, the song has amassed more than 98K views and over 1.6K likes.
The comment section is filled with multiple listeners complimenting the track, some claiming how much they and their families like it.
"Why is the media concentrating on 5 negative comments that the song is misogynistic and not to even acknowledge that there far more positive comments. My family and I love this new song ❤️❤️❤️❤️," one listener wrote.
A former friend of Otis Pavlovic bashed the Royel Otis member for the lyrics of the latest single
Amidst the criticism Royel Otis has been getting for the lyrics of their latest song, a former friend of Otis Pavlovic decided to speak up. The former school friend spoke to news.com.au that it was "disheartening" to witness a local Australian artist, especially someone they knew, like Pavlovic, casually refer to women as "b*tches" in his songs.
The former friend further accused the duo of deleting comments from their social media that criticized the video or the lyrics. The individual also alleged that the pop duo was only responding to the positive comments on social media, calling the act "dismissive and cowardly."
"They've been deleting comments that call out the lyrics and video, while only replying to the positive ones. It's dismissive and cowardly, and it says a lot about whose voices they value," the former friend commented.
They also said that when popular artists use derogatory language in their tracks to address women, it always adds to the culture of devaluing women in general. The individual added that it was necessary to ensure that such creators were held accountable for such lyrics.
No further response had been received from Royel Otis as of now, after the apology.
The Australian guitar pop duo originated in Sydney back in 2019. The duo has since gained popularity and won four awards at the 2024 ARIA Music Awards, according to Billboard. Royel Otis is set to tour the US with their Meet Me in the Car Tour later in the year.
