Robbie Williams is slammed online after his 'horrifically disrespectful' question on X Factor

X Factor UK fans have slammed Robbie Williams online after his 'very disrespectful question on the show.

The calls came after Robbie asked a transgender singer what his birth name was.

When Felix Shepard, 20, took the stage, one of the first questions Robbie asked him was what he was called before he made the transition into a man.

Almost instantly, viewers made their thoughts public, slamming the judge for an extremely "inappropriate" question in front of the audience, and said that it was "none of his business."

Fans criticised Robbie for asking Felix's "dead name". Deadnaming is naming a transgender person by the name they had before they transitioned – intentionally or unintentionally – rather than their actual name, and can be seen as invalidating their identity.

Before his performance, Felix said: "I'm here to prove I'm more than a transgender guy, we can be overlooked… I'm just an everyday kind of person."

Despite the fact that Felix obliged when asked for his birth name, a lot of fans claimed that it was "out of order."

"Robbie, what the hell are you playing at asking a trans guy what his name used to be? Shameful asking him to dead name himself in front of thousands of people and on prime time TV.... you're in my bad books buddy," one viewer tweeted.

"Robbie proving what a c**k he truly is! Complete inappropriate question to ask a transgender their dead name,' another fan raged.

"Robbie Williams asking a trans man all about his life BEFORE transitioning whilst he sits with his feet up on the desk is so gross and disrespectful. #XFactor is dead and finished,"

"Trans lad comes out to audition on The X Factor, first question Robbie Williams asks is what his name was when he was born. F**ks sake. Dead names aren't people's business."

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Robbie also had his supporters though, many flocked to Twitter to defend Robbie, saying that Felix was perfectly fine explaining his backstory.

"Oh leave Robbie alone. He will have been told to ask so that they could promote the backstory of Felix," one fan wrote.

"If Felix wants to be open and bring up his choices in his audition, there's nothing wrong with Robbie asking questions, #xfactor ps. His voice was beautiful."

Felix sang Kodaline's emotional hit All I Want for his audition, explaining that he picked the song because it's the first tune he ever performed live aged 13.

Felix's audition absolutely stunned the judges, with Louis Tomlinson gushing: "As a recording artist the tone you have is amazing."

Simon Cowell was even blown away by the piece: "You have a great voice, and even when you messed up the notes because I think you became emotional it made me like you more."

Felix explained: "It's difficult because if I played my voice back in February I had a falsetto that has now disappeared.

Robbie reassured him: "Felix, don't worry about it. You killed the vocal, your journey so far in life is fascinating and I want to see where the rest of it takes you."

This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is reproduced here with permission.