Sunday, December 1, 2013 9:30am ET by  
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James Arthur mentally broken by fame

James Arthur’s sister has given an interview detailing her brother’s struggles with the pressures of fame.

Following a diagnosis of acute exhaustion, the X Factor winner cancelled a number of public appearances and performances. He has also recently been criticised for the use of a homophobic slur on a music track.

In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, James’ sister, Sian (pictured together, above), revealed that the ‘Impossible’ singer has been diagnosed with depression and has been suffering anxiety attacks.

Sian also told the paper that 25-year-old James declined to have media training following his success on last year’s series of the X Factor and has been struggling to cope with being in public eye ever since.

The concerned sibling stated: “Sometimes I wish he'd never won X Factor. Despite finally having what he's always wanted, he says he feels like a caged animal surrounded by yes-men and is really lonely.”

She added: “He put it really simply to me. He just said, 'Fame has mentally broken me.'”

Directly addressing James’ use of homophobic language, Sian argued: “It was the wrong word to use, no excuses - but he apologised immediately and the hate campaign against him has gone too far now. He made a mistake and he's so sorry about it that he's making himself ill with worry.”

Despite a public protest James Arthur is still set to perform on tonight's (December 1) episode of the X Factor.

 

 

 

 

 

Watch James Arthur's video for the track 'Recovery' below: