Louisa Johnson in new music video Yes. | Photo: Louisa Johnson / YouTube
X Factor winner Louisa Johnson (known professionally as Louisa) is under fire for tweets using the homophobic slur ‘faggot’.
The revelations come about after the Yes singer announced she’s performing at Birmingham Pride. She is a regular performer at Pride events across the UK.
She’s since deleted the tweets in question but according to screenshots, Louisa replied to a series of tweets in 2013 using the homophobic word.
She said: ‘faggot where are u,’ ‘LOOOOOL faggot’ and ‘ok faggot.’
Bit awkward for these homophobic tweets to come out on the day you announce her for your Gay Pride Festival 🐸 pic.twitter.com/Oh097okxWY
— ҉HBIC (@muvvafucker) March 29, 2018
In response to the allegations, Louisa released a statement and posted it to Twitter.
She wrote: ‘When I was a school girl, I made some inappropriate remarks on Twitter. I was young and foolish, and hanging around with the wrong crowd & didn’t know any better. That’s not an excuse, it’s an explanation.
‘I’m sorry for some of the comments I made at that time on social media. I think it’s important for me to speak out about this and say that I don’t think it is right or appropriate for anyone to use derogatory language at any time or at any age no matter what the circumstances.
‘I’m a completely different person to who I was at the age of 14 and I am a huge supporter of the LGBT community. I have a lot of young fans and I know I can now use my voice for a message of positivity, inclusion and equality X.’
Fans respond
In response to the revelations, fans of the singer seem to be quite forgiving. In reply to her public apology, one fan wrote: ‘Don’t you worry about that. We’ve all got past tweets that we regret it’s all about how we are as a person now.’
Another replied: ‘We’ve all got past things we’ve done that we regret. You have an amazing talent and we love you for that.’
Louisa Johnson at Heaven nightclub. | Photo: Heaven Night Club London / Facebook
But others weren’t so forgiving.
One replied: ‘It’s so disappointing to see this, especially since I love your music so much. I managed to be 14 and not use such horrific words, so it isn’t just a mistake. As a gay man, I am saddened as homophobia plagued my teenage years.’
Another simply tweeted:
. @louisa going thru all her tweets with the word faggot in them and deleting all 200 of them pic.twitter.com/ziTFrMR08J
— ⊿timo (@fadgonewild) March 29, 2018
Louisa released the music video for her new song Yes on Tuesday (27 March). She also performed a set at London gay club Heaven on Saturday (24 March).
She won the twelfth series of the X Factor UK in 2015.
