'We Apologise': Royel Otis Address Criticism Of 'Misogynistic' Lyrics On New Song
Royel Otis have received fan criticism about their latest single, 'moody,' since its release earlier this month.
Royel Otis (Credit: Alex Wall)
Royel Otis have issued a response after receiving backlash towards the lyrics of their latest single, moody.
The Australian duo released the track earlier this month. It was co-written by the members of the group – Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic – and Grammy Award-winning songwriter Amy Allen, and produced by Blake Slatkin (Gracie Abrams, Omar Apollo, Charli XCX). The pair plainly stated that moody is “a song about a girl.”
Since moody’s release and its accompanying visualiser, which makes references to Lolita, Royel Otis have received criticism for the song’s alleged misogynistic lyrics.
Lines from the song include:
I got good intentions/ She don’t see them at all/ She’d rather mention/ That I missed her call/ I’m in the dog house again
She’s always givin’ it to me/ Late nights, she always accusin’/ Last time, she said she would kill me/ My girl’s a bitch when she’s moody
In comment sections about moody on Instagram, some fans expressed disappointment in the song’s lyrics, describing them as misogynistic.
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“And we’re all cool with guys singing these lyrics? Just checking in,” reads one comment, and they’re not alone. Another user wrote, “Has anyone actually listened to these lyrics? Who let them think this was chill?”
Another commenter noted that Australia is currently facing a femicide crisis (per Australian Femicide Watch), and the idea of releasing a song with the aforementioned lyrics is “crazy.”
“Didn't expect a man to write these kind of lyrics in 2025,” the comments continued. “terrible song; women hating lyrics under some basic ass pop chords so painfully unoriginal, your girl should dump u tbh,” and “oh awesome another guy talking about hating his gf 😍😍 this fucking sucks”.
Social media posters also allege that Royel Otis have been deleting negative comments on posts surrounding the song. “to delete comments of people who are calling you out for misogynistic and problematic behaviour is just continuing the cycle. Get a grip,” a commenter said.
Another wrote, “Hey @royelotis maybe stop deleting peoples comments regarding your gross actions and respond in a less cowardly way? If this comment gets deleted that’s genuinely pathetic ❤️ we won’t stop commenting.”
Royel Otis have issued a statement addressing the controversy, per news.com.au.
The publication received an email from Kay and Hughes Art and Entertainment Lawyers, which quoted the group’s management as saying: “Moody has been Royel Otis’ highest-performing release in the first 2 weeks globally both digitally and on radio.”
Royel Otis added, “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.”
In addition to releasing moody this month, Royel Otis announced a massive US tour packed with headlining dates and festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, and more. The US dates are between UK and European festival appearances, including Glastonbury, Mad Cool Festival, Reading & Leeds Festival, Lowlands Festival, and others.
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