Shayne Ward faces backlash after appearing to suggest people from Manchester more likely to go to prison
Shayne Ward has been forced to apologise after appearing to suggest that being from Manchester means he would be in prison if he hadn't found fame on The X Factor.
The singer, 30, made the polarizing comment during an interview on ITV's This Morning.
When asked what he would be doing if he hadn't won The X Factor, he replied: "Being from Manchester, probably in prison."
Host Phillip Schofield said: "I'm from Oldham and I take great exception to that."
Viewers were quick to attack Ward with one tweeting: "Way to stereotype Mancunians! Not very nice thing to say. @shayneward @itv_thismorning."
Another posted: "I was at my Mum's...yes I still stay there" of course you do Shayne Ward - until recently you were unemployed @thismorning."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ha my 'prison' answer was a joke. Please don't be offended. Little Sense of humour....Don't read into things. X— Shayne Ward (@shayneTward) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/shayneTward/status/601360015040114688" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-42401-https://twitter.com/shayneTward/status/601360015040114688" data-vars-event-id="c23">May 21, 2015</a>
Following the backlash Ward took to Twitter to apologise for anyone who was offended.
He tweeted: "Ha my 'prison' answer was a joke. Please don't be offended. Little Sense of humour....Don't read into things."
The X Factor winner was on the daytime show to talk about his upcoming role in Coronation Street.
Ward is set to play Aidan Connor, a distant cousin of Michelle (Kym Marsh) who grew up on the same estate as her and Carla (Alison King) in the long running soap.
He confirmed that rumours connecting his character to Sarah Harding’s were “not true at all”, but he kept tight lipped on what we can expect from him, telling Schofield and Holden: “I'm a nice guy...for now.”
