Stormzy has offered his “deepest apologies” over “unacceptable and disgusting” homophobic tweets found on his account.
The rapper has come forward to say he “takes full responsibility”, after Pink News uncovered a series of offensive tweets he sent between 2011 and 2014.
He used various gay slurs in the 19 tweets found, in which he also said it was “proper gay” for men to dance, style their hair, show affection towards other men, not have sex before marriage or to even own a teddy bear.
Stormzy - real name Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo, Jr. - has now apologised to “everyone he’d offended” in a statement posted on Twitter.
Claiming those views do not represent him as a grown man, he said: “I said some foul and offensive things whilst tweeting years ago at a time when I was young and proudly ignorant. Very hurtful and discriminative views that I’ve unlearned as I’ve grown up and become a man [sic].
“The comments I made were unacceptable and disgusting, full stop. Comments that I regret and to everyone I’ve offended, I am sorry, these are attitudes I’ve left in the past. The homophobic language I used was, embarrassingly, a part of my vocabulary when I was younger and ignorance made me feel comfortable to use them whilst not understanding the hate and the ramifications they carry.”
He continued: “That isn’t an excuse, I take responsibility for my mistakes and hope you can understand that my younger self doesn’t reflect who I am today.
“Again, I’m sorry to everyone I’ve offended. To the LGBQT community and my supporters and friends, my deepest apologies.”
His apology stands in contrast to the one issued by YouTube star Zoella over similar tweets last week.
The vlogger said she was “sorry if she’d offended anyone”, after historic posts making disparaging comments about gay men and “fat chavs” were found on her account.
The pair are just a number of celebrities who have hit headlines in recent weeks over offensive pre-fame tweets, with ‘I’m A Celebrity’ star Jack Maynard being removed from the jungle over ones he’d sent.