Dalton Harris says 'I am not sleeping with a man'

Dalton Harris says he is disheartened by reactions to a photograph which shows him being tightly hugged by fellow X Factor contestant Brendan Murray. Dalton, who is leading the way in this week's X Factor 2018 downloads on iTunes, said he is "not sleeping with a man."

While indicating that his comment should not be taken as an explanation, Dalton said, "I am a single man, not sleeping with a man".

"If you are so uncomfortable with your sexuality that you feel that two dudes hugging is gay, then so be it. At the end of the day, I am here living out my dream," he said in a video post on Instagram.

Since the photos were released, many social media users have made comments questioning Dalton's sexuality. Others say they hope it does not impact his chances to win X Factor 2018.

Dalton, who entered the semi-finals after delivering a powerful performance of Beyonce's Listen last Saturday, has odds of 2/7 to win. The singer said that having seen the responses to the photos on social media, he is taken aback by the treatment being meted out to him.

"If I didn't know myself I would have been broken today by all the ignorance! I would have actually believed what you thought of me, good thing I know exactly who I am and I am far from broken. I mean it when I say you have your life to fix so stop wasting time trying to break someone else's. You cannot touch me mentally or in any other way. So believe me when I say I am not phased," he posted.