MSN has apologised for referring to Nadine Coyle as “the other one” in an article on its music website about the band Girls Aloud.
The reference was made in an article about “songs we love which never made number one”.
Third on the list was Girls Aloud with their song ‘Love Machine’.
The article stated: “Despite being Britain’s best-loved girl band Cheryl, Nicola, Sarah, Kimberley and the other one have cruelly been denied their fair share of number one singles.”
One local fan said: “On reading the caption I thought it was an appalling display of discrimination against Nadine who is from Northern Ireland, the only girl in the band not from Britain.”
A spokesperson from MSN said: “The article is independent editorial, which is intended to be a light-hearted, retrospective take on songs that duly deserved the number one spot but lost out.
MSN Music is a huge fan of Girls Aloud and their music, and the omission of Nadine Coyle’s name was not meant to cause any offence. We are sorry for any distress this may have caused.”