James Blunt has settled confusion surrounding his real name after the pronunciation of his surname sparked debate across social media. With renewed attention on the singer due to his current stint on the star-studded BBC deception game show, it emerged that he actually performs under a stage name.
Stage name revelation
Born James Hillier Blount, the 52-year-old felt compelled to address fans on X/Twitter and disclosed he had modified the spelling of his moniker. The You're Beautiful hitman struck back at a report claiming to have "unearthed" his actual name, responding: "By 'unearthed', you mean 'is on the first line of his Wikipedia page'."
In a follow-up post, James clarified: "And for clarity, Blount and Blunt are pronounced the same way. But I simplified it to Blunt as I was tired of people rhyming my name with 'count'."
Fan reactions and past comments
Charmed by his sharp humour, supporters flocked to the comments section, with one observing: "He's actually a better comedian than he is a musician." "I bloody love James Blunt, he really doesn't mind taking the p*** out of himself," wrote another. A third admirer noted: "I admire you for setting up the obvious joke." "You're a F****** LEGEND fella, I know where you want folk to go with rhyming your name," remarked a fourth.
This marks not the first occasion the TV personality has tackled the pronunciation issue, having previously posted in 2014: "My real name is James Blount, but I changed it as people teased me that it rhymed with 'count.'"
BBC social media guidelines
This development follows just days after the former British Army Captain found himself in trouble with the BBC over a social media post, having shared the official press photograph promoting his involvement in the Celebrity Traitors lineup. In the serious-looking image showing him dressed in a tweed suit from tailor Barrington Ayre, which allegedly displayed both the BBC and Celebrity Traitors logos, James tagged the brand and wrote: "The name's Blunt. James Blunt," reportedly violating the broadcaster's regulations.
According to the Metro, a BBC spokesperson said: "The BBC has clear guidelines in place around commercial activity which we take very seriously, and players have been reminded of this. The social media posts referred to have been taken down." The BBC editorial guidelines published online forbid celebrities from exploiting the corporation's programmes or branding to advertise products and services.
The source revealed that the BBC and Studio Lambert were oblivious to the posts and, upon being notified, contacted all involved parties, with the post being deleted from X straight away. Based on his post, Blunt had received the costly garment from Barrington Ayre, though the specifics of any deal between the musician and the tailor remain unconfirmed.
