T-Pain doesn't solely blame Usher's cutting comments for depression

Hip-hop star T-Pain has played down his suggestion a critical comment from Usher sparked a four-year battle with depression.

The Buy U a Drank hitmaker hit headlines this week after recalling an encounter with Usher back in 2013, when he called out T-Pain's extensive use of Auto-Tune, and blamed him for wrecking the music industry for talented vocalists.

In the new Netflix docuseries This Is Pop, T-Pain shared, "I really respect Usher. And he said, 'I'm gonna tell you something, man. You kinda f**ked up music.'

"And then he was like, 'Yeah, man, you really f**ked up music for real singers.' I was like, 'What did I do? I came out and I used Auto-Tune.'

"He was like, 'Yeah, you f**ked it up.' I'm like, 'But I used it, I didn't tell everybody else to start using it (sic).'"

The cutting comments hit T-Pain hard, and fans believed it sent him spiralling into a long period of depression due to his remarks.

"That is the very moment, and I don't even think I realised this for a long time, but that's the very moment that started a four-year depression for me," he confessed.

T-Pain's story went viral on Tuesday, but now he's taken to Twitter to clarify the situation, insisting it's been blown out of proportion.

In a new tweet, the star explained Usher's negative feedback came as a shock, but he was already dealing with personal issues, which combined, really took a toll on his mental health.

"I still love and respect @Usher telling that story was in no way meant to disrespect that man," he wrote on Tuesday afternoon. "Ppl (people) talk s**t about me 24/7 but when it comes from someone you truly respect it hits very different."

"I never said f**k Ursh," he continued. "it was a drop in the ocean of s**t I was already goin through (sic)."