Singer Shawn Mendes has apologised after racist tweets he posted at the age of 14 have resurfaced online.
The 21-year-old said he 'apologised wholeheartedly' for the tweets - which included the use of the N-word - and said there was 'no place for comments like that'.
In a post on Instagram, Mendes wrote: "I posted some racially insensitive comments on social media when I was younger and I am so sorry.
"I apologise wholeheartedly for what was said and understand how offensive those posts were.
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"There is no place for comments like that and those words do not represent who I am. I stand for complete exclusivity, equality and love."
The now-deleted tweets he referred to include one which mentioned 'a regular day with m n**** kareem' and another that referred to 'light-skinned girls'.
He also shared a selfie with his hair sticking up and the caption: "I have an AFRO!"
His social media statement comes after many fans were left unimpressed with previous comments he made about the tweets, when asked at a recent meet-and-greet.
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A member of the audience asked Mendes why he hadn't acknowledged his 'ignorant' posts, prompting him to respond: "Yeah, of course. A lot of things just need to be moved on from.
"But I also think that the things that [you] saw... like, I had friends when I was 14 who would, like, take my phone and post things of them because they thought it was funny that I had, like, 2,000 followers and it was this big thing.
"And they'd post photos of themselves and at the time I was just, like, not thinking about it. I had no idea I was going to have 50 million followers, which doesn't make it any better."
He then added: 'But yeah, totally I apologise for everything insensitive I said in the past, but with that being said, yeah, I think that's not my personality."
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Not everyone was quick to accept the initial apology, though, with one angry social media user writing: "The fact that he refuses to take responsibility and blames it on 'friends' is incredibly immature and pathetic. Your actions are your fault, nobody else's."
Another added: "Why did I expect Shawn Mendes to know better than to begin his response to his past online racist f*****y with, 'I just think that, a lot of things need to be moved on from...' when he's never addressed it? Then go on to blame his friends for every single post made?"
Both Mendes and Cabello are due to appear at the MTV VMA's on Monday.
Featured Image Credit: PA