Ella Henderson thinks James Arthur has a "right to express" himself.
The 'Ghost' singer - who met James, 26, when they appeared on 'The X Factor' together in 2012 - has defended his recent outbursts and says he "has a right" to express himself.
She told The Mirror newspaper: "The James that I know he blew me away the first time I met him because of his talent, and I remember him for his talent - that's how I see it.
"I think everybody has the right to express themselves."
The 'Impossible' singer - who was recently dropped from his SyCo recording label - was reprimanded back in April for his rap track 'All The World's A Stage' which featured the lyrics, 'Look at what you do to me, I'm crying over stupid s**t, you're such a f**king homophobe, wish I'd never let you in, to think that I was thinking maybe I should let you live, I'm gonna blow up your family like I'm a terrorist.'
Ella Henderson has defended her former 'X Factor' co-star James Arthur and believes he "has a right" to express himself.In November 2013, James was also heavily criticised for using the word "q***r" in a rap battle and got embroiled in a text and Twitter argument with his fellow 'X Factor' contestant Lucy Spraggan.
However, Ella - who is also signed to SyCo isn't concerned about being axed along with her former co-star.
She said: "I don't feel any pressure. Right now I'm surrounded by such positive energy and my team of people are great. I'm one of those people that live in the moment and I'm going to enjoy every second of it. I don't think about anything like that.
"If you think about being under pressure too much then you're never going to enjoy it and music is something I enjoy. I'm very happy right now."
Tagged in Ella Henderson James Arthur