X Factor star Olly Murs has defended last year’s winner James Arthur against the swarm of controversies that have eclipsed his musical activity over recent weeks.
Arthur has become embroiled in numerous feuds and rants, culminating in a homophobia scandal that erupted when he called rival Micky Worthless a “f**king queer” in a rap.
Olly told Digital Spy:
“To be fair to James he did comment and he made a very good statement saying, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say it’.
“But, look, he’s got a couple of weeks off I suppose to get himself back to scratch. He’s a talented lad, he’s got a great voice, great ability and hopefully he bounces back.”
James Arthur will return to the spotlight this weekend (PR)
The star went on:
“There’s always artists out there that cause controversy… at the moment he’s going through a tough time.
“I just think sometimes when your back’s against the wall you just say things and you probably don’t mean it. So I give him the benefit of the doubt.”
James is due to perform on The X Factor’s results show this weekend, a week after he pulled out of all public engagements due to ‘acute exhaustion’.
