During a social media argument with Tommy Robinson, co-founder of far-right street protest movement the English Defence League, the singer plainly stated she had "only ever been sexually assaulted by white males" in response to Robinson asking if she had ever met or spoken to a victim of "the Muslim grooming gangs".

Allen's feud with Robinson began when she shared a post on Twitter criticising a Daily Mail headline featuring the word "migrant" to profile the suspect of the New Year nightclub attack in Turkey.

"Don't know his name or nationality but call him a migrant in the headline," the singer wrote, followed by "#racism".

The activist hit back at Allen saying she was a "f---ing idiot" who was "virtue signalling" by speaking out about racism, and she does not care "about dead people," to which she replied "don't see you mourning too much for the innocent in Aleppo Tommy".

As the co-founder and former leader of both the English and European Defence League, which oppose the spread of Islam in Britain and Europe, respectively, Robinson's Twitter features mainly articles about crimes committed by Muslim immigrants.

As the spat continued, he shifted his discussion from murder to rape, alluding that Allen was ignorant as a celebrity. "What stupid girls like you should do before piping up is a rent a flat in Luton in bury park , live there a month then preach [sic]," he wrote.

Allen replied: "Racist AND sexist. Nice one Tommy."

Robinson also accused Allen of living in an "ivory tower", and said she wasn't "even prepared to hear why working class people are angry and scared". But, some Twitter users came to Allen's defence, with commentator writing, "I'm working class, from Bethnal Green. Tommy, you don't have the intelligence to represent me."

While Allen's defence was somewhat clumsy in wording, she was trying to make a simple point: there is an all-too-common Western narrative that stigmatises migrants and minority groups when it comes to combating rape culture.

The commentary created a clear schism of users on social media, but Allen decided to shut down any trolls.

"You know what, the police should just lock up all white males as it seems we do everything evil in this world," one user wrote.

"That's a bit strong, but restricting their movement on a global scale could be a good idea," Allen satirically tweeted as a parody of Robinson's anti-immigration stance.

"Trying to point out that sexual deviants and murderers operate within every culture, regardless of religious persuasion," she tweeted after a number of users accused her of "blaming" white men.

"People need to realise the reality of how white males and their attitudes towards our laws continue to threaten our values and communities."

Late on Tuesday, two days after the back and forth began, Robinson continued to question and accuse Allen of fabricating her sexual assault, which he claimed she "did not report to police". Allen shut him down by simply saying, "How do you know what I have and haven't reported?"

This is not the first time Allen has passionately expressed her views on the current refugee crisis, with the singer reflecting on her visit to a Calais migrant camp in a piece for Vice. She had received backlash for apologising on "behalf of [her] country" after speaking to a 13-year-old boy from Afghanistan who unsuccessful risked his life trying to board a truck bound for the UK.

"The furore about whether or not some refugees may have lied about their ages is not really about whether these refugees can enter the country; it's about creating the narrative that people trying to come here aren't asking for our help, but trying to dupe us, take advantage of the system." she wrote for Vice.

"The hope is that this will make us less trusting of them next time round."

Defending her active voice on the issue, Allen said, "Some people will say, 'You're just a pop star – you should just make music.' But 40 years ago, even 25 years ago, you couldn't really be taken seriously as a musician unless you had a political stance."