Take That’s Howard Donald has been fired from Nottingham Pride for liking a series of transphobic and homophobic tweets, with the singer saying he was ‘disappointed’ with himself in a fawning apology.

The musician was set to headline LGBTIQA festival Groovebox in July alongside artists such as Horse Meat Disco, Essel and Sam Sax.

Howard’s performance at the event was condemned by fans who took notice of his recent online activity – his Twitter account has since been deleted.

Nottingham Pride announced the news in a statement on Friday, saying: ‘In light of recent events, Howard Donald will no longer be playing at our Nottingham Pride Festival on Saturday 29th July at Binks Yard.

“We would like to thank the public for alerting us to the situation this morning and also appreciate your patience as we spoke to the relevant parties.”

They continued: “The Groovebox team stands in solidarity with the wider LGBTQ+ community, we believe that every person has the right to be their authentic true self without fear of persecution and hatred.

“We are working to confirm a replacement headliner alongside Horse Meat Disco, Tayce, Danny Beard & ESSEL for Nottingham Pride and will make an announcement in due course.”

Howard shared his own statement on Instagram, writing: “I made a huge mistake in my judgment about liking social media posts that are derogatory to the LGBTQIA+ community and for that I am deeply sorry and I know that I have abandoned.

“I am very disappointed in myself and I am sorry for all the pain I have caused by my unskilled actions. Obviously I still have a lot to learn and it’s a priority for me to do this.”

MailOnline has reached out to representatives from both Howard and Nottingham Pride for comment.

Before his account was deleted, Howard had liked tweets like, “Only women menstruate!” Men cannot menstruate. Transgender ‘women’ cannot menstruate PinkNews.

The publications also report that Howard liked a Tweet from Turning Point UK founder Charlie Kirk calling for Disney to be fired for holding a pride concert.

Take That, now a trio after the departure of Robbie Williams and Jason Orange, has been working on an album for the past few months.

They will headline the British Summer Time festival and have just released a film adaptation of Greatest Days – the hit musical about Take That.

Donald, who was also a judge on German reality talent show Got To Dance, was set to perform separately in Nottingham next month.