Niall Horan Twitter prank criticised for joking about 'experimenting' with sexuality

The tweet was posted from musician Niall Breslin's account

A Twitter prank allegedly played by Niall Horan has been criticised, after the One Direction singer seemingly logged into the account of another musician and tweeted that the other man was "experimenting" with his sexuality.

Horan, along with TV and radio presenter Eoghan McDermott, is believed to have posted from the profile of Niall Breslin, who rose to fame with band The Blizzards. The pair reportedly wrote: "I’ve been experimenting with my sexuality. No conclusions reached as of yet but it’s been a fun ride so far."

In reply Breslin posted: "That last tweet came to you from @eoghanmcdermo and @NiallOfficail. School boy error."

It has not been confirmed whether the comment was written by Horan and McDermott. The Independent has approached both of them for comment.

The tweets have since been deleted, but further tweets from Breslin acknowledging and apologising for their content remain live.

One Twitter user, who also captured a screen shot of the original tweets, posted: "Kind of disappointed in tweet from @nbrez account joking about experimenting with your sexuality."

She added: "What’s more unsettling are all the favourites/retweets… I’m a fan of @nbrez but not ok with that type of 'humour'."

In response Breslin tweeted:

Meanwhile, McDermott tweeted:

However, some Twitter users said Breslin, who is an ambassador for mental health organisation Cycle Against Suicide (CAS), had not addressed the potential ramifications of the tweet on the LGBT community.

One user said: "Disappointing to see @nbrez brush aside a joke about sexuality made on his account. Many young people struggle desperately with their sexuality."

And another said: "When one of the main issues in that area [LGBT] is mental health a throwaway joke like that is really disappointing."

Breslin requested that his work for CAS not be questioned and replied:

In the past, One Direction have been praised by fans for lending their support to the LGBT community. In November Harry Styles was interviewed alongside bandmate Liam Payne by ODE in a segment called "FourPlay".

Asked what they look for in a girl, Payne answered: "Female, it’s a good trait."

To which Styles replied: "[It's] not that important."