Azealia Banks apologizes for using homophobic slur in Twitter row

Rapper Azealia Banks has apologized to her fans after using a homophobic slur during an online bust-up with a celebrity blogger.

The rising hip-hop star took aim at Perez Hilton on Twitter.com after he labelled her "pathetic", branding the openly gay blogger a "f**got", before writing, "omg u should just kill yourself... Like for real... lol (laugh out loud) what a messy f**got you are."

Banks went on to defend her tweets, adding, "A f**got is not a homosexual male. A f**got is any male who acts like a female. There's a BIG difference.

"If u listen to my music and are not offended by the word n**ga... We're not gonna go here with this f**got s**t... We're just not."

However, following a backlash from her followers for using the term, she issued an apology, writing, "My most sincere apologies to anyone who was indirectly offended by my foul language. Not sorry for Perez tho (though)."