The 2012 'X Factor' winner James Arthur has reportedly been fired from Simon Cowell's record label Syco Music.
There were doubts earlier this week that he would remain a part of the label for much longer, after he tweeted negatively about Cowell.
The final straw seems to be a new song that Arthur wrote, titled 'Follow the Leader', which includes the lyrics: “Look at what you do to me, I'm crying over stupid s**t/ You're such a f***ing homophobe, wish I'd never let you in/ To think that I was thinking maybe I should let you live/ I'm gonna blow up your family like I'm a terrorist."
Arthur defended the context of the lyrics however, comparing it to Eminem’s hit ‘Stan’, which portrays a fictional obsessed fan writing a letter to the rapper.
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.
— James Arthur (@JamesArthur23) April 6, 2014
Just for the record.
— James Arthur (@JamesArthur23) April 6, 2014
However, according to media reports, Cowell fired him from the label immediately after hearing the song.
UPDATE: The singer has said that as far as he is concerned, he is still signed to Syco, tweeting: “As far as I know I am still with syco but I am exclusively signed to Sony.”