"I see a lot of abuse aimed at artists online," singer Niall Horan has tweeted, in advance of his appearance on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing.

"Why can't everyone just concentrate on the artists they like and if you don’t have anything nice to say about artists you may not like, well just keep your mouth shut," the Mullingar and former One Directioner elaborated in a second tweet on the subject.

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"I'm not talking about any artist in particular. I’m talking about the culture on here of just abusing people because you can. It’s not like you would walk down the street screaming out loud about the people you dislike a small bit."

Speaking about his Strictly appearance, he said, "Make sure you tune in to see quite the sexy dance to Nice To Meet Ya", which is his new single.

Horan told The Sun on Friday that One Direction should 'probably' avoid releasing music at the same time. Horan, Liam Payne and Harry Styles all have new music out this month.

'It's something we don’t talk about, the fact we keep releasing music at the same time,’ the singer admitted.

"We should probably start staying away from each other in terms of that but we will get it one day," he said. "But thank God there’s enough room for us all.’

Horan released the track Put a Little Love On Me, on Friday, the same day Liam Payne’s debut album LP1 saw the light of day. Harry Styles's new album Fine Line is released on December 13.