X Factor Hopefuls Rough Copy Face Racist Abuse

X Factor hopefuls Rough Copy have been targeted by racist trolls online.

The Croydon lads, who have secured a place in the semi-finals, said that their time on the ITV talent show had been blighted by vile abuse from viewers.

Band member Joey Thomas said: "Someone said on Twitter, 'You black ***** can't even sing - you should get off X Factor'.

"You go on their page and they've got three followers."

Kazeem Ajobe added: "I've seen 'monkey' before [on Twitter]. I don't pay attention to those things."

The group revealed that supportive fans had helped them deal with the abuse.

"Sometimes I'll respond, 'Thanks so much for your support. I'm happy you noticed us. Keep following us because big things are coming LOL xxx'."

Sterling Ramsey said: "Instead of writing something back, I favourite it."

They are not the first black X Factor act to open up about racist abuse on social networking sites.

In November, former contestant Hannah Barrett revealed that she was bombarded with intense racial abuse from users who claimed that her skin was too dark.

"I've received a lot racist comments on Twitter. People say I'm too dark to be a singer and there have been lots of references to how dark my skin is. People say, 'You're black and ugly' and nasty things like that," she told Reveal magazine.

"The sad thing is that most of them are made by black people who just have lighter skin than me."