Why a kids’ streaming service wiped away Queen’s ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’

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The legendary rock band Queen found itself dumped in the middle of the culture wars this week as one of its more bawdy songs was absent from its “Greatest Hits” album on a streaming platform meant for children.

On Aug. 11, Universal Music announced it would be sharing a number of music titles to Yoto, which launched in 2015 as a screen-free audio device with content safe for children. “Queen’s Greatest Hits: Volume 1” was one of the titles that would be added to the streaming service.

But when Yoto added the album this week, it did not include “Fat Bottomed Girls,” a cheeky song that includes lyrics about a “naughty nanny” with a “big fat fanny,” as well as “fat bottomed girls,” who “make the rocking world go around.”

The band declined to comment on the decision, but Phil Symes, a spokesman for Queen’s publication arm, Queen Productions, confirmed the removal from the album on Yoto “was agreed with the band ahead of its release.” Universal Music declined to comment.

The choice to wipe “Fat Bottomed Girls” from Yoto drew criticism from Fox News commentators and even Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who wrote, “They’re trying to cancel Queen? Idiotic.”

“To say, ‘All right, that song never existed’ is utterly ridiculous. And, by the way, the boomerang effect will be more people downloading that song than they ever would’ve before 40 years later,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha told “Fox & Friends First” on Monday.

But other social media users, including some Queen fans, contended that there wasn’t much of a debate about the song’s removal since it has provocative lyrics and isn’t suitable for children.

Yoto, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, told the United Kingdom news outlet the Independent that “the average age of our listeners is 5 years old, and after consultation, we felt [‘Fat Bottomed Girls’] wasn’t appropriate for our young audience.”

“Whilst no swear words are used parental discretion is advised when playing this content to or around younger children,” according to the “Greatest Hits” description page on Yoto.

The song, which debuted on the band’s seventh studio album “Jazz” in 1978, still appears on Spotify and Apple Music on the “Greatest Hits” album, sitting alongside other mega hits from the band including “We Will Rock You,” “We Are the Champions” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

In 2011, Queen guitarist Brian May, who penned the song, told Total Guitar magazine there wasn’t one specific “bottom” that inspired the project.

“There were a lot of bottoms involved, really, and not just the ones in my direct experience,” he said.

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