The '5 O'Clock' star plays down his previous claims that he fell into depression after being accused by friend and fellow artist Usher of ruining music with his auto-tune use.

• Jun 23, 2021

AceShowbiz - Hip-hop star T-Pain has played down remarks suggesting a critical comment from Usher sparked a four-year battle with depression, insisting he still has "love and respect" for the singer.

The "Buy U a Drank" hitmaker hit headlines this week (begs21Jun21) after recalling an encounter with Usher back in 2013, when he called out T-Pain's extensive use of Auto-Tune and blamed him for wrecking the music industry for talented vocalists.

In new Netflix docuseries "This Is Pop", T-Pain shared, "I really respect Usher. And he said, 'I'm gonna tell you something, man. You kinda f**ked up music.' "

"And then he was like, 'Yeah, man, you really f**ked up music for real singers.' I was like, 'What did I do? I came out and I used Auto-Tune.' "

"He was like, 'Yeah, you f**ked it up.' I'm like, 'But I used it, I didn't tell everybody else to start using it (sic).' "

The cutting comments hit T-Pain hard and sent him spiralling into a long period of depression.

"That is the very moment, and I don't even think I realised this for a long time, but that's the very moment that started a four-year depression for me," he confessed.

T-Pain's story went viral on Tuesday but now he's taken to Twitter to clarify the situation, insisting it's been blown out of proportion.

In a new tweet, the star explained Usher's negative feedback came as a shock, but he was already dealing with personal issues, which combined, really took a toll on his mental health.

"I still love and respect @Usher telling that story was in no way meant to disrespect that man," he wrote on Tuesday afternoon. "Ppl (people) talk s**t about me 24/7 but when it comes from someone you truly respect it hits very different."

"I never said f**k Ursh," he continued. "It was a drop in the ocean of s**t I was already goin through (sic)."