LOS ANGELES-Dua Lipa has said she is ‘’sorry’’ for using the n-word in a cover of a Mila J song after it remerged on YouTube.

Dua Lipa has apologised for using the n-word in an old cover of rapper Mila J’s ‘Smoke, Drink, Break-Up’. The ‘New Rules’ hitmaker recorded a rendition of the explicit 2014 track, but after it resurfaced on YouTube, Dua took to Twitter to tell her 1.3 million followers that she never intended to ‘’offend’’ anyone by singing the rude word. The 22-year-old pop beauty says she wished she had thought about using a different phrase to replace the racist slur, and added that she will always ‘’stand up for social justice’’. She wrote : ‘’In relation to my 2014 cover I never meant to offend or upset anyone. I didn’t say the full word but I can admit I shouldn’t have gone there at all and that a different word could’ve been record altogether to avoid offence and confusion. I wasn’t thinking it through at the time ... I always stand up for social justice and I am very sorry to anyone that I have offended x (sic)’’

Meanwhile, the ‘Be The One’ singer recently admitted her own music comes from her feelings of low self-confidence, but that she finds it very empowering performing her tracks on stage.

She said: ‘’Getting up and performing my songs, I do feel very confident. But a lot of the songs come from a place that lacks that. Something I always wanted was a way to portray confidence in my music - trying to make myself feel better in certain situations. Like after someone didn’t think I was good enough, I wrote ‘Hotter Than Hell,’ which made it seem like he couldn’t get enough of me. I guess that makes me feel empowered.’’