Olly Murs has lent his support to the beleaguered James Arthur, saying that he gives the singer the "benefit of the doubt".

The X Factor 2012 winner has suffered a troubled past few months, mainly due to some frank Twitter interactions and spats which ultimately resulted in the 'Impossible' man passing his social networking duties to his management.

Things came to a head, however, when rap diss lyrics surfaced featuring a homophobic slur. He then clarified the words and apologised before being diagnosed with 'acute exhaustion'.

Speaking to Digital Spy, Olly Murs said that people often say the wrong things in the heat of the moment - words they don't always mean. He said:

"To be fair to James he did comment and he made a very good statement saying, 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it'. But, look, he's got a couple of weeks off I suppose to get himself back to scratch. He's a talented lad, he's got a great voice, great ability and hopefully he bounces back."

The 'Right Place Right Time' man added: "There's always artists out there that cause controversy... at the moment he's going through a tough time. I just think sometimes when your back's against the wall you just say things and you probably don't mean it. So I give him the benefit of the doubt."

iTunes meanwhile recently broke their usual selling rules and offered one unhappy customer a refund on Arthur's self-titled debut album after being offended by his rap slur.