- Yoto is a child-friendly audio platform that has released Queen's "Greatest Hits" compilation album.
- The album features the band's hit 1978 track "Fat Bottomed Girls," but it won't appear on Yoto.
The kid-friendly platform Yoto has omitted Queen's hit song "Fat Bottomed Girls" from its release of the band's beloved greatest hits album, leading to backlash on social media.
Fans have expressed outrage that the classic 1978 track is not available, but the platform is standing by its decision.
Here's what we know about the controversy.
Fans feel it's 'stupid to censor Queen'
On August 11, Yoto, a London-based audio platform that offers over 1,000 music and audiobooks for children up to the age of 9, announced it had partnered with Universal Music Group to begin making albums and artists from its library available on the Yoto platform.
The partnership kicked off in a big way as the announcement noted that Queen's "Greatest Hits," one of the best-selling albums of all time, was now available on Yoto under the title, "Greatest Hits Volume 1."
But a look at the tracklist revealed a shocking omission. Queen's hit song from the late 1970s, "Fat Bottomed Girls," was not included.
"A 6 year old wont understand the lyrics, they'll just bob their head to it. A 14 year old will giggle and... bob their head to it. It's a nothing burger. It's stupid to censor Queen," wrote one fan on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Another wrote: "If we are removing adult oriented songs, then why even upload Queen to begin with. Yoto should just make 'We Are The Champions' and 'We Will Rock You' available. I don't understand how 'Fat Bottom Girls' is bad, but 80% of the other songs are okay."
Yoto felt the song wasn't 'appropriate' and Queen agreed to omit the song
Yoto is a kid-friendly audio player that encourages screen-free listening, and has a box shape and two big nobs for volume and other features. You insert the card into the top of the box to start playing the music or audiobook.
On the product page on its website, Yoto added a disclaimer that reads: "Please note that the lyrics in some of these songs contain adult themes, including occasional references to violence and drugs. These are the original and unedited recordings. Whilst no swear words are used parental discretion is advised when playing this content to or around younger children."
Yoto did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, but it did tell The Independent that "the average age of our listeners is 5 years old, and after consultation" they didn't feel it was "appropriate for our young audience."
The song includes late Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury belting out lyrics like, "I was just a skinny lad / Never knew no good from bad / But I knew life before I left my nursery / Left alone with big fat Fanny / She was such a naughty nanny / Heap big woman, you made a bad boy out of me."
A representative for Queen also told The Independent that the band agreed to the song's omission prior to release on Yoto.
Classic Queen songs such as "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Don't Stop Me Now," "Another One Bites The Dust," and "Somebody To Love" are available on the album being sold on Yoto.
According to the August announcement, Universal Music Group will follow the release of Queen on Yoto with music from Bob Marley & the Wailers and Motown Records on the platform.