This is probably anecdotal / subjective on my part, so take this under advisement, but I feel like that usage is more clearly a slur.

The bit about not knowing the etymology for the "cause to complain" version was me at one point, and I think I might have guessed the origin of the given verb without necessarily connecting it to the noun, despite the similarity.

FWIW, in my dialect there's also a verb "to gip", hard g, which is imitative (and so nothing to do with slurs) and means "to dry retch or feel one might be about to", which is almost never used in the past tense. Hearing it in the past tense, even with a soft g, would make me question everything, which may be another reason why I feel this way.