Former X Factor contestant James Arthur has faced a fierce backlash after his diss track aimed at MC Micky Worthless contained the insult "f*****g queer." The criticism directed at Arthur was so strong that the singer relinquished control of his Twitter account to his management team. "#LOVE to my fans but I'm coming off twitter for good. HQ will be doing all my tweets from now on. PEACE!" he wrote.

James Arthur
James Arthur Steps Away From Twitter After Backlash.

The 25 year-old posted the track 'Hey Micky' on Soundcloud which has now been taken down but not before news could quickly spread that he had used an inexcusable and offensive gay slur. "F*ck you @JamesArthur23 for using the phrase 'f**king queer' in your latest track. F*ck you," angrily wrote actor Matt Lucas on Twitter.

You can find the rap here. [Caution: may cause offence].

Meanwhile, comedian Frankie Boyle, who is used to courting controversy in his stand-up routines, decided Arthur had gone too far, tweeting "@JamesArthur23 Nb; Battle raps usually rhyme. Try it. Eg. Arthur goes with carcrash/disaster/ classless arsehole and even "gay hate slur"." Boyle and Arthur's beef dates back to last yearwhen the Scottish stand-up described the Middlesborough singer as "a cross between a tramp and a duckling."

James Arthur CD Signing
Arthur Has Been Condemned For Using A Homophobic Slur In A Rap Battle.

"Any offence I have caused by using the term 'queer' in my rap battle with MC Worthless [...] would just like to make it completely clear that it was not meant in anyway as a reference to homosexuality," tweeted Arthur before abandoning his Twitter account amidst the online tirade directed at him.

However, Worthless, whose rap battle with Arthur led to the present furore, has said that it was Arthur's comparisons with him and the Taliban that irritated him most. "Yeah, he called me Taliban. I was like, 'Come on man, why are you bringing my actual race into it?' You can tell he's not very smart because I just don't know how he thought that could fly," he said via NME.

Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas Was Not Impressed By Arthur's Choice Of Insult.

The battle originally began when Worthless posted 'Stay In Your Lane' as a rap warning when Arthur presented himself as a battle rapper on the radio, an act likened to queue jumping by Worthless.

Underneath it all, let's face it: Arthur's rap sucked regardless of any racial or homophobic slurs. Worthless concurs: "Appalling. There was no lyrical content, the beat itself was wack, the hook was wack, the lyrics were childish. I don't think he knows about bars and beats. It was really cringeworthy. He really, really shouldn't have done it."

James Arthur Fusion Festival
The Rap Was No Good Anyway.

Arthur's career trajectory had been looking encouraging up to this point: he sold 1.2 million copies of his first single last December, his recently released self-titled debut hit No.2 in the UK charts, his upcoming tour has nearly sold out and, unlike many talent show contestants, he has managed to maintain the public eye. Shame that currently it's for the wrong reasons.