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X Factor winner James Arthur has made light of his 2013 anti-gay accusations, telling fans that he hopes his new single receives radio play, as his is longer homophobic.
Arthur, who landed himself in hot water after making anti-gay slurs on a diss track aimed at 'Don't Flop' rapper Micky Worthless, is reported to have made the comments at a gig at Usher Hall in Edinburgh on Thursday 9 January, 2014.
The Guardian reports that he joked with the audience: "This one will hopefully get played on the radio, 'cause I'm not a homophobe any more."
Obviously making light of the subject comes in direct contrast to Arthur's rather feeble apology on an X Factor live show last year, and the rather disgusting texts shared by fellow X Factor contestant Lucy Spraggan. Regardless, Arthur seems to have maintained a hold on his fans as the Guardian reports that the sold out show saw the audience singing along and screaming at that bloke off the telly. They also wrote that he thankfully kept his rapping to a minimum.
Watch Arthur's abysmal 'Fire in the Booth' below
Arthur recently stated that he was suffering from depression following on from the backlash against his comments.
"All my confidence has disappeared because the whole nation thinks I'm a homophobe who looks like a monster," he said. "I couldn't speak to anyone for a week. It was awful. My little sister was being bullied in school and I was receiving constant death threats."
He continued: "I stayed in bed for days on end. Any time I tried to get up, I couldn't. I felt deep, deep shame about my mistakes since winning the show. I kept thinking, 'What the f**k have I done? But since becoming famous, I've had a depressive nature. It's a curse. Maybe I suffer for my art."
Below: The 9 douchiest moments of James Arthur's short career so far
