Jesse Hughes apologises after accusing Florida shooting survivors of exploiting dead classmates 'for Facebook likes'

Jesse Hughes has apologised after branding student-led gun protests as "disgusting" and "pathetic", and accusing them of "exploiting the death of 16 of our fellow students for a few Facebook likes and some media attention".

Last week the controversial Eagles of Death Metal frontman criticised the hundreds of thousands of people who took part in the 'March for Lives', which called for stricter gun control in the US after the Florida school shooting.

In one post he shared a drawing which compared gun regulation to a man cutting off his penis to prevent rape. In the text below the image, he ranted against the student survivors of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where 17 people were killed and 17 others injured.

"When the truth don't line up with your bulls**t narrative just hold your breath and stamp your feed and refused to except [sic] it... then take multiple days off school playing hooky at the expense of 16 of your classmates blood...!" he wrote. "It might be funny if it wasn't so pathetic and disgusting.

"As the survivor of a mass shooting I can tell you from first-hand experience that all of you protesting and taking days off from school insult the memories of those who were killed and abuse and insult me and every other lover of liberty by your every action."

He concluded in the now-deleted post: "Long Live Rock'n'Roll... and may everyone of these disgusting vile abusers of the dead live as long as possible so they can have the maximum among of time to endure their shame... and be Cursed..."

In another, also now-deleted post, he directly attacked student survivor and protester Emma Gonzalaz, who has been the subject of several fake images as part of a right-wing attempt to discredit her.

After removing the posts from his Instagram, Hughes posted a video apology that said they "did not communicate how I feel about a variety of topics".

"What I intended to be a statement about the hijacking by any side of the aisle of the beautiful agenda of a movement of our nation's youth came off seeming like a mean-spirited and personal attack and slight of the youth themselves."

He added: "I wanna be clear, I never intended for that to happen. I was not attempting to impugn the youth of America and this beautiful thing that they accomplished. I truly am sorry, I did not mean to hurt anyone or cause any harm.

"As someone who's watched their friends shot in front of their eyes and seen people killed that they love, I should have handled this a lot more maturely and responsibly, and I did not do that and I messed up. And I hope that you're able to forgive me but please know that I did not mean to do what it seems like I was doing."

Hughes himself is a survivor of the Bataclan terror attack in Paris in 2015 which killed 89 people. The singer caused controversy at the time for using the attack to publicly criticise France's gun control laws, claim it was an inside job, and allege he saw Muslims celebrating in the street as the Paris attacks took place.

He later apologised, saying there was "no excuse" for his words but that he was "sincerely sorry for having hurt, disrespected or accused anyone".