Louisa Johnson apologises after history of homophobic slurs exposed
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 02: Louisa Johnson attends the Red Carpet Arrivals for the European Film Premiere of “In The Heart Of The Sea”>> at Empire Leicester Square on December 2, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Fred Duval/Getty Images)
Former X Factor winner Louisa Johnson has spoken for the first time since hundreds of anti-gay Twitter posts were exposed.
The pop star, who has nurtured a large gay fan base since rising to fame in 2015, was found to be behind hundreds of online posts labelling Twitter users “faggots”.
The expose came just hours after she was announced as a headline act at Birmingham Pride.
Last weekend she even performed at Europe’s largest gay club, G-A-Y Heaven in London, to promote her latest single.
Posts by the singer show her casually referring to other users with the homophobic slur.
She has now issued a grovelling apology for the posts – claiming she was “young and foolish”.
In a statement, 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.”
Louisa Johnson (Getty)
Louisa added: “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.”
Despite her use of homophobic language hundreds of times on twitter, Louisa claimed she is now a loyal supporter of gay right sand the LGBT community.
Louisa Johnson (Getty)
She added: “I am a completely different person to who I was at the age of 14, and 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.”
