Olly Murs has responded to to backlash over “misogynistic” lyrics in his latest song.
The singer has come under fire following the release of his track ‘I Hate You When You’re Drunk’ last month.
The lyrics include: “Oh, you’re slurrin’ all your words, there’s make-up on my shirt / You’re dancin’ on the tables, can’t you see / That you look like a mess and you’re singin’ Whitney?”
In the second verse, Olly sings: “Oh, you got them drunken eyes, should we call it a night? /‘Cause you’ve been tellin’ stories four-five times / Yeah, I’ve heard it before and my ears are bleedin’.”
The former X Factor star then repeatedly sings the words: “Oh, I hate you, hate you, I hate you, hate you when you’re drunk.”
In another part of the song, he sings: “Because you wanna buy champagne / And you wanna throw the shots back / And now you’re takin’ photographs / Why am I the only one that don’t laugh?”
Olly then asks his loved one to “quit acting like a fool”, before reassuring them that he will “love you all the same” as “I’ll pick you up when you do it all again”.
Fans took to Twitter following the release of the song to slam the lyrics, with many speculating Olly was singing about his fiancée Amelia Tank.
One wrote: “Olly Murs is quite the sad, controlling boyfriend according to the lyrics of his new song, ‘I Hate You When You’re Drunk’. I look forward to her reply song ‘I Hate You When You Sing’.”
Another tweeted: “Olly Murs’ new song ‘I Hate You When You’re Drunk’, in which he calls his girlfriend ‘a mess’ for having fun at a party, is the lead single from an album called… Marry Me.”
A third penned: “I’m glad to see people talking about how crap and misogynistic the lyrics are to Olly Murs’ new song…”
Olly Murs is quite the sad, controlling boyfriend according to the lyrics of his new song, “I Hate You When You’re Drunk”. I look forward to her reply song “I Hate You When You Sing”
— Shaun Keaveny 💙 (@shaunwkeaveny) November 27, 2022
Olly Murs' new song 'I Hate You When You're Drunk', in which he calls his girlfriend 'a mess' for having fun at a party, is the lead single from an album called… Marry Me
— Jacob Stolworthy (@Jacob_Stol) November 28, 2022
Just heard a bit of Olly Murs's new song and…wow. However bad you think it's going to be, trust me when I say you're going to be unpleasantly surprised. One of the worst things I've ever heard. It's triumphantly horrendous. And wildly misogynistic, too.
— Bolshevik Bannerman ☭ 🇵🇸 (@TheLeftwaffe) November 29, 2022
I'm glad to see people talking about how crap and misogynistic the lyrics are to Olly Murs' new song…disappointed @BBCRadio2 still have it on repeat this week 😒 https://t.co/VHxAu4WSJk
— MrKaryan (@karynmoo) November 28, 2022
Olly was asked to respond to the criticism on BBC Breakfast with hosts Sally Nugent and Jon Kay on Tuesday.
He said: “It’s obviously upsetting to think that people took it that way because it was not the intention. It was a song that I really related to in the studio.”
“At the start of January, I had a New Year’s resolution I wouldn’t drink for a year. So, I’ve been out with my friends, my family, (thinking) I hate you when you’re drunk.
“It was never about Amelia or anyone, it was just a song that we really related with at that time. So, for people to take it that way, I was really upset by it.”
“I couldn’t believe people had taken it that way which is a shame because I think the song is really great.”
Olly said he understood that when you see something written it can look “a lot worse.”
He added: “When you listen to the song and you understand the type of artist I am, it was just more in a cheeky fun way.
“If there was anyone that I would thought would have got offended by it, it would probably be Amelia if she thought it was about her, but it actually wasn’t. We move on.”
