Olly Murs has defended James Arthur after The X Factor winner was criticised for using a phrase in a rap which insulted a number of people.
Arthur has since cancelled a number of upcoming concerts after being diagnosed with exhaustion.
In an interview with Digital Spy ahead of yesterday's Royal Variety Performance Murs gave his view on the whole matter: "To be fair to James he did comment and he made a very good statement saying, 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it'.
"But, look, he's got a couple of weeks off I suppose to get himself back to scratch. He's a talented lad, he's got a great voice, great ability and hopefully he bounces back.
"There's always artists out there that cause controversy... at the moment he's going through a tough time.
"I just think sometimes when your back's against the wall you just say things and you probably don't mean it. So I give him the benefit of the doubt".
Arthur tweeted an apology:
@RealMattLucas I am so sorry i offended you sir. I will be removing this song from the internet shortly. Im a huge admire of your career.
— James Arthur (@JamesArthur23) November 16, 2013