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Blake Shelton apologizes for past tweets: 'I have no tolerance for hate'

"Can my humor at times be inappropriate and immature? Yes. Hateful? Never," the singer said.

By Annie Martin
Blake Shelton at the Los Angeles premiere of "The Angry Birds Movie" on May 7. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 3 | Blake Shelton at the Los Angeles premiere of "The Angry Birds Movie" on May 7. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Blake Shelton apologized Wednesday for a number of controversial past tweets.

The 40-year-old country star claimed he meant his comments as a joke after facing accusations of homophobia and racism over the series of old Twitter posts.

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"Everyone knows comedy has been a major part of my career and it's always been out there for anyone to see. That said anyone that knows me also knows I have no tolerance for hate of any kind or form," Shelton wrote.

"Can my humor at times be inappropriate and immature? Yes. Hateful? Never," he asserted. "That said I deeply apologize to anybody who may have been offended."

Shelton, who boasts 17.8 million followers on Twitter, had written several tweets about gay men and non-English speakers between 2009 and 2011. The posts, which surfaced online over the weekend, have since been deleted.

"Standing in line at a coffee shop in LA talking with the man in front of me. He orders a skinny caramel latte. I couldn't tell he was gay!!!" Shelton wrote in March 2011.

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"Wish the [expletive] in the next room would either shut up or learn some English so I would atleast know what he's planning to bomb!!" he tweeted the same month.

Ellen DeGeneres also faced accusations of racism this week after posting a photo of herself riding on Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt's back. The television personality responded by saying that she's "the furthest thing" from racist.

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