H from Steps hits back at homophobic abuse over him being a father

Ian 'H' Watkins from Steps has criticised the homophobic abuse he has received online for being a father.

The pop singer, who is openly gay and shares twin sons with his ex-partner Craig Ryder, shared a message that had been sent to him which read: "Your poor babies having two dad's [sic] its disgusting."

H, real name Ian Watkins, hit back at the abuse on his Instagram account: "THIS is the kind of bigotry (& illiteracy) that still exists today. I get these messages on a daily basis on social media."

He added: "Times have changed but we have a long way to go educate homophobes like Kerrie.

"Kerrie, if you could only see the life and love my children have. Maybe you never had that, which explains a lot."

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H concluded by hoping people could learn to be more tolerant: "I’m genuinely sending you love and urging to you educate yourself and do better."

He also received an outpouring of support from various other celebrities such as Carol Vorderman and Trisha Goddard.

Commenting on his post, Goddard wrote: "Kerrie is clearly uneducated in more ways than one! Big hugs to you and your babies!"

His Steps bandmate Faye Tozer also defended him by saying: "Love is everything."

Former Gogglebox star Kate Bottley also said: "I've sent Kerrie a friendly DM sending her love and reminding her to get some help with her issues (also that homophobic abuse is a crime)."

H welcomed twin boys six years ago alongside his former partner, Craig Ryder before they split up a year later. The twins were born in California through a surrogate based in San Francisco after an earlier attempt ended in a miscarriage.

The Steps star previously revealed that he used the same surrogacy team as Elton John. He had also looked into adopting children but claimed the process was "homophobic".

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