Azealia Banks has apologised to her fans after realising "that words hurt".
The 24-year-old rapper – who had her Twitter account suspended and was dropped from appearing at a London festival last month in the wake of a vile racist and homophobic rant towards Zayn Malik – has vowed never to use the word "f****t" again and admitted she now understands that not everyone is as "thick skinned" as she is.
She wrote on Facebook: "Ok, i’m never saying the word F****T ever again. The amount of people that get hurt when i use the word vs. the amount of people i’ve said it to are just not worth it. Honestly… This isn’t a cop out, its just me realizing that words hurt. and while i may be immune to every word and be thicker skinned than most, it doesn’t mean that i get to go around treating people with the same toughness that made my skin so thick. Because, that IS how people get thick skin… by being subjected to name calling/belittlement/abuse and its not fair."
The ‘212’ hitmaker admitted she has allowed her ranting and use of unpleasant terms to paint a picture of herself that isn’t the "true me" and doesn’t want to damage her career by ruining her own reputation.
She continued: "It’s not fair to my fans, not fair to my peers but most importantly, Not fair to myself. By using those words i paint a picture of myself that isn’t the true me. I paint the picture of my upbringings, my neighborhood, my pain, and my misfortunes… I paint the picture of someone who is used to suppressing things, and being defensive. I paint the picture of someone who cannot allow themselves to be vulnerable or at the very least, Happy…. When i am ALL of those things.
"I’m sweet, i’m kind, i’m caring, i’m generous, i love to make people laugh and above all of it, I LOVE ART. I love to please and inspire others with my music and art the most, More than i love anything in the world.
"To lose out on a chance to make people feel good and smile and be happy would be the dumbest thing i could do in this lifetime."
Azealia ended her post with a "sincere" apology to her fans for letting them down "over the years" with her outspoken ways.
She added: "To end this note i want to SINCERELY apologise to my fans for having let so many of you down over the years. I know that you all want nothing else for me but to see me win, and i thank the many of you who saw the beauty in me and have stuck around this far….
"You guys are my rock, I love you guys so much and all i want to do is make you proud.(sic)"
Azealia Banks apologises to fans
