Following on from the huge success of his comeback single 'Say You Won't Let Go', which currently sits at Number 1 on the Official UK Charts, James Arthur has opened up about the homophobic comments that landed him in hot water at the beginning of his career after winning The X Factor.
James Arthur
Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, he explained: "My music is about love and I don't discriminate against any type of person. It was taken out of context and I didn't mean to offend anyone at all. But I make no excuses and I dealt with the whole thing in the wrong way."
At the time, Arthur was in a fight on Twitter with rapper Micky Worthless, getting engaged in the heated debate with his own rap which slammed Micky as a "f**king queer". He later apologised.
Arthur went on to talk about the depression and anxiety which have plagued him through his life, saying: "It's something that's become part of my life. At one time it was horrendous and I didn't know what it was. I go through these episodes where I can't breathe and I feel like I'm having a heart attack.
"I got really lost and my family could all see it. There was no getting through to me, I was just buried in self-loathing and doing all the wrong things."
He added: "I thought I was going to die and the way I dealt with it was by self-medicating and taking more medication than I should have been. I was smoking lots of cannabis. Way more than anyone should have been. I was out of control."
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