Corrie's Antony Cotton defends Ariana Grande over Manchester Pride backlash

Antony Cotton has defended Ariana Grande against backlash over her Manchester Pride performance.

The \'Coronation Street\' star - who was born in Bury, Greater Manchester and has been open about his own sexuality - has hit out at critics of the 25-year-old singer and her headline billing for the LGBTQ event coming up this summer.

Taking to Twitter, the gay actor wrote: "I can\'t believe people have tweeted @ArianaGrande to complain about her headlining the @ManchesterPride weekend because she\'s straight?!

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"I\'ve never heard of anything so preposterous.She was asked because she\'s feckin\' amazing. And she\'s also an honorary Mancunian. End of story."

Ariana was made an honorary citizen of Manchester in July 2017, just months after the terror attack at her concert in the city, which claimed the lives of 22 people.

She said at the time: "I don\'t know what to say. Words don\'t suffice. I\'m moved and honoured. My heart is very much still there. I love you. Thank you."

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Soap star Antony\'s comments come after Ariana had to speak out this week on social media after some people complained about her booking.

She said: "If you truly feel like i didn\'t deserve to be offered this spot, I respect that. But i did accept it excitedly and gratefully. I\'m not claiming to be the hero of the community or the face of the LGBTQ rights movement - I just wanna put on a show that makes my LGBTQ fans feel special and celebrated and supported. That\'s all I wanna do."