Stormzy apologises for historic homophobic tweets

British rapper Stormzy has apologised for sending “disgusting” homophobic tweets in the past.
Editors at U.K. LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) website Pink News unearthed 19 Twitter posts the 24-year-old published between 2011 and 2014 in which he used the words “f*g”, “f**got” and “gay” as an insult.
On Wednesday (22Nov17) Stormzy, real name Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo, Jr., took to the social media site to offer his apologies to the LGBTQ community and express his embarrassment and regret at his youthful attitudes.
He wrote, “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.
Describing his comments as “unacceptable” and “disgusting” he added, “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.
“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.”
Stormzy signed off his posts by offering his “deepest apologies” to the LGBTQ community.
Among the Big for Your Boots rapper’s tweets were ones in which he stated that it was “gay” for men to dance, style their hair, and own a teddy bear.
The grime star has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame and become a household name in the U.K. over the past two years, and in February (17) his debut album Gang Signs & Prayer topped the British charts.