James Arthur admits he’s ’embarrassed’ by his past behaviour
By Will Stroude
X Factor winner James Arthur has opened up about his high-profile fall from grace in 2013, which involved a string of controversies, including homophobic lyrics and bust-ups with former X Factor contestants including Matt Cardle and One Direction.
The singer won the X Factor in 2012 but later split from record label Syco after a “humongous breakdown.” It was during this period that he released a diss track with the lyrics “You fucking queer” and “faggot”, causing huge outcry.
The 28-year-old soon cemented his reputation as the male equivalent of Azealia Banks, after using the term “f**king queer” in a Twitter argument with underground rapper Micky Worthless, causing him to be publicly slammed by a range of LGBT stars including Matt Lucas and Lucy Spraggan.
Speaking to The Sun, Arthur, whose latest single ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ is currently storming the charts, said the outbursts came at a time when his mental health was suffering.
“I was lost. I look back on the character that I was then and I’m embarrassed,” he said. “I’m embarrassed about how I behaved and how negative my perspective was and how I handled the pressure.
“I went from absolutely nothing to a lot of people judging me over night and it was really tough for me. I had a tough time with anxiety and I just buckled under the pressure in a way that was uncharacteristic of me.”
Revealing he suffered from panic attacks, explained: “All the symptoms were the symptoms of an impending heart attack, and many more of them were to follow. It was the pressure and I was ignoring it, trying to be a man, trying to be tough about it.”
“I masked it all with self-medicating and just trying to bury it instead of confronting it. I just dug myself a hole. To the point where I had a humongous breakdown.”
He added: “Looking back now it’s clear to see it was a mental illness issue that I had and again I just dealt with everything in completely the wrong way.
“It’s great to be in my mind and be conscious again and be looking forward to just focusing on music and all the positive stuff that’s going on.”
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