‘The X Factor’ UK: Was former winner James Arthur ‘fired’ over lyrics?

The case of James Arthur vs. the attention-hungry British media is continuing this week, and this time we’re talking about the rumors that he was “fired” by Simon Cowell over some controversial lyrics.

These reports are coming in from a variety of sources, and all are claiming many things about the former “X Factor” winner. Some of the biggest headlines include that he has been supposedly fired for all of his controversial antics, which include posting insensitive lyrics, lashing out at people via social media, and then blasting his record label’s marketing department over how they choose to use language in their posts that doesn’t suit his style. In particular, there is a song off of his mixtape called “Follow the Leader” which features a lyric that some think may be advocating terrorism.

However, James denies for the time being that there was any manage damage done to him by the label in the slightest. Speaking in a new post on his Twitter account, he had the following to say on the subject:

“The song ‘follow the leader’ from the mixtape is not promoting terrorism, it’s a story, a reciting of a Stan Esc letter from a demented fan. As far as I know I am still with syco but I am exclusively signed to Sony. People look too deeply into the media circus. It’s about music.”

“Stan” is a reference to a song from Eminem, which deals with a similar subject matter.

While James may still be with his label for now, this is not a story that we see having a particularly happy ending at the end of the day. He’s extremely opinionated, hard to control (not good for Syco), and has burned many bridges in a short period of time. Ultimately, he feels like someone who would’ve been more comfortable had they actually lost the show, where there wouldn’t be so much pressure put upon them.

We’ll have more on this saga as it breaks, and to get more news from us at CarterMatt on all we cover, sign up now for our official newsletter.

Photo: ITV