Bajanradio Montreal

Reggae musician Beenie Man apologised today for homophobic lyrics he says have been "misunderstood".

The controversial Jamaican superstar was booked to play at next year's Big Day Out music festival before outrage from gay rights groups forced organisers to drop him from the line up.

In an email sent out today, Beenie Man, aka Moses Davis, said the offending lyrics – where he called for the murder of homosexuals – were written "at a point in my life when I younger and was seeing a lot of exploitation of poor and defenceless young boys in the garrison - where I too was born - by rich men. When I wrote the lyrics boys were raped and murdered often - even recently a nine-year-old went to buy cigarettes for a man, came back and was raped and murdered. The act of sodomy was my concern when I wrote the song.

"I realise that those men were not gays, but were predators or paedophiles, which is not a common word in my dialect – hence the perception when generalising. I am older and realised the difference after," he wrote.

Beenie Man says he has repeatedly apologised for the lyrics overseas, and was "heartbroken" upon hearing his appearance in New Zealand had generated such opposition.

"In the past I offended others with offensive lyrics, I apologised then and now, I never took back my word. Our world is an interesting place filled with variety and we all have to respect others no matter what race, choices, culture or lifestyle. I am not a supporter of hatred and never was."

He concludes the email with a message for New Zealand and Australia: "Australia and New Zealand, please know that I am sincere and right now I am proposing peace, one world.... One Love regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation and nationality."