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'Anti-cyberbullying' rapper sorry for SMS smack talk

Balls berk and Radio 1 texter in very British beef

A rapper who acted as a spokesman for Ed Balls' anti-cyberbullying campaign last November has been caught sending abusive texts to a listener who called into a radio show, the BBC reports.

Chloe Moody texted The Chris Moyles Show on Radio 1 to express the opinion that band N-Dubz were "losers" and that frontman Dappy (whose real name is Dino Contostavlos) was "repulsive". The texts were read out on the air while the band was being interviewed in the studio on Tuesday, much to their apparent displeasure.

Dappy, 22, responded to this criticism by attempting to call the woman the next day, before threatening her by sending a text saying: "Your [sic] gonna die" unless she apologised. This message and a subsequent highly irate call were traced back to Dappy, prompting the Mobo winning band's management to issue an apology.

Radio 1 staffers reckon the rapper noted down the woman's number after it appeared on a monitor in the studio. Extra precautions will be taken so that this doesn't happen again.

Dappy himself is yet to apologise to Moody directly for his childish behaviour (which led one over-excited newspaper to cry "BBC in new 'Sachsgate'"), but has issued a statement admitting his actions were wrong. "I called her in the heat of the moment when I was angry, but that is no excuse for my behaviour," he said.

In an outstanding show of consistency, the rapper made offensive calls and texts only two months after helping to support of Schools Secretary Ed Balls' campaign against "cyberbullying" over mobile phones and the web. N-Dubz released a track called "RU Cyber Safe" as part of anti-bullying initiative, leading Balls to acclaim them at the time as "great ambassadors" in the fight against bullies.

The full text of Dappy's messages and subsequent apology can be found in a BBC story here. ®

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