A 2011 clip of British singer Ed Sheeran using homophobic language in a freestyle rap battle with fellow artist Devlin was pulled from the Internet shortly after reports of the video's existence on YouTube began to surface, reports London's Daily Mirror.
"Yo, I freestyle to the faggoty man," Sheeran reportedly raps in the clip. "I go on the bus and I sleep for a day, then I come back and they're like, Ed, you look like this gay."
News of the clip immediately caused a stir, with commenters accusing Sheeran of being a homophobe -- an easy assumption to make when the words are taken out of context. However, the artist's words were not intended as an attack on LGBT people but were instead meant to call out antigay attitudes of some rap artists.
This was corroborated by a spokesman for Sheeran, who responded when the Mirror reached out for a comment. "Ed was sending up rappers who make homophobic remarks," they replied. "He is clearly not homophobic."
Sheeran has a history of being a vocal LGBT ally; among other things, he criticized the Westboro Baptist Church on social media when the antigay group protested outside Taylor Swift's Kansas concert in 2013, tweeting, "To the people picketing outside the arena. Keep your homophobic views to yourself, it's 2013."
