Tom Jones was interviewed by The Big Issue recently, and is now facing backlash following controversial comments which he made about homosexuality whilst speaking to the magazine.
Chatting about his career, he explained: "I was ready for most aspects of the music industry but when I met the producer Joe Meek, that threw me off a bit. Because he was a homosexual.
"I thought, wait a minute, is the London scene, the people who run British showbusiness - are there a lot of homosexuals involved here? Because if so, I'm going back to Cardiff."
He added: "When I signed with Decca and Peter Sullivan became my manager... he said the same thing Joe Meek said - 'tell the boys to pack their gear up, I want to talk to you myself' - I said, 'you're not one of these queer fellows are you?' And he said, 'what are you on about?' I became paranoid, you see.
"I wondered, was that required to make a hit record? But then I got into it and I realised no, it just so happened that the first guy to record me was a homosexual producer.
"Once I got over the shock of that, and realised it wasn't true, most people were normal. Well, I shouldn't put it like that. Homosexuals are normal, it's not that they're not normal. It's just that they are what they are."
Social media users are now lashing out following the comments, saying that Tom's views are homophobic and outdated.
The singer has replied and noted that knowledge and attitudes towards homosexuality were very different in the 50s and 60s.
The interview comes ahead of the new series of The Voice on BBC One, which sees Tom Jones replaced as a mentor on the panel following Rita Ora's leaving the show for ITV rival The X Factor.
Boy George and Paloma Faith are new additions to the series, with Ricky Wilson and will.i.am back for the show.
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