Why is Royel Otis under fire for "Moody" lyrics? Meaning decoded as singer apologizes

Australian pop-duo, Royel Otis, which consists of Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, came under fire recently for the lyrics of their new single Moody which was released on May 9, 2025. The song was written by Maddell and Pavlovic, along with Amy Allen and Blake Slatkin. Fans were not happy with certain parts of the song that had a misogynistic connotation to them.

Here are the lyrics that received heavy backlash from listeners:

"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," the chorus of Moody sings.

Royel Otis is also facing criticism for supposedly deleting negative comments from their post and responding only to positive remarks. This was stated by a former schoolmate of Otis Pavlovic. They said:

"deleting [social media] comments that call out the lyrics and video, while only replying to the positive ones.... In 2025, it’s disheartening to hear a local Australian artist – someone I know or I knew – casually refer to women as 'b**hes' in their lyrics."

Royel Otis defends Moody and apologizes for the lyrics

After the accusations of misogynistic lyrics and deleting negative comments, Royel Otis has decided to address the issue. The duo clarified by saying that the lyrics of the song come from a specific perspective and are not meant as a general statement for women. In Otis' words:

"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."

Additionally, when News.com.au tried to reach out to the band's entertainment lawyers, this is what they had to say:

"Moody has been Royel Otis' highest performing release in the first 2 weeks globally both digitally and on radio."

At the time of writing, Moody has been streamed 4,184,992 times on Spotify so far.

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Royel Otis was formed in 2019, but the duo has been making waves in the New Wave and Indie Pop space. They won the AIR Awards "Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year" in 2024, the APRA Awards "Emerging Songwriter of the Year" in 2025, and four ARIA Music Awards in 2024. This year, the pop duo will also be going on their "Meet Me In The Car Tour," starting from September 12 to October 11, 2025.

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