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'It's really insulting': Ed Sheeran challenges federal court judges, vows to quit music if guilty of plagiarism

Ed Sheeran said, 'If I'd done what you're accusing me of doing, I'd be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that'

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran stated on Monday that if he is proven guilty of plagiarizing Marvin Gaye's soul hit 'Let's Get It On', he will quit music, calling the accusations “insulting.” Sheeran, 32, refuted the charges that he copied blatantly from Marvin Gaye and his co-writer Ed Townsend's 1973 hit in his 'Thinking Out Loud'.

The ‘Shape of You’ hitmaker has been sued by Townsend’s heirs who have demanded a whopping $100million dollars for violation of the copyright. In the court procedure that is taking place in Manhattan federal court, the ‘Game of Thrones’ alum reportedly declared that if the jury found him guilty, he would be “done” with music. 

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When his attorney Ilene Farkas asked him about his opinion about the trial, he declared, “If that happens,” referring to the possibility of him being guilty, he would be quitting music. He said, “I'm done, I'm stopping,” before adding, “I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it,” as reported by Daily Mail.

'I mash up songs at lots of gigs'

Last week, lawyers for Townsend's heirs presented a video of Sheeran seamlessly transitioning between 'Thinking Out Loud' and 'Let's Get it On' during a live performance in Manhattan federal court. They claimed that doing so amounted to a confession that he had stolen the tune.

However, Sheeran testified in court on Monday that he and other performers frequently perform 'mash ups,' and that he had previously combined 'Thinking Out Loud' with Van Morrison's 'Crazy in Love' and Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You'. He has, in fact, also said, the song was rather inspired by Van Morrison’s number only.

“I mash up songs at lots of gigs. Many songs have similar chords. You can go from 'Let It Be' to 'No Woman No Cry' and switch back,” said Sheeran before adding, “And quite frankly, if I'd done what you're accusing me of doing, I'd be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that.” 

'Protect my intellectual property'

One Anthony Williams happened to interview Townsend's daughter, Kathryn Townsend Griffin about her opinion on the case. She said that it "ain't about the money," however, her father told her, "'No matter what, protect my intellectual property,'" and she is doing "just that." To her comment, one user replied, "Come on! First of all, if you had a problem with it, why 8 yrs later are you complaining about it!! The words are completely different and the theme is completely different! Ed Sheeran is a great young man who doesn't deserve this kind of unwarranted policity!! This is ridiculous!"

Another social media user commented, "This family are always taking someone to court. Everytime someone uses the same chord: "right, get the lawyers" Marvin Gaye's family are soooo greedy." Someone else commented, "If you have to start every interview with this ain't about the money....I don't know." However, one supported her by saying, "If you listen to both songs, you hear the Marvin Gaye melody exactly. Ed Shereen probably didn’t do it on purpose but you can’t deny it’s the same tune."

'This one just happend to make the most money'

Fans could not help but notice the striking similaities between the two compositions, as one social media user commented, "First time I heard that song at a party I said to my wife, that’s Marvin Gaye, she said no it’s Ed Sheeran. I said no, that’s Marvin Gaye!" Another said, however, "Dislike him but it sets a bad precedent for music and melodic convention there's a ton of songs that sound like "let's get it on" but this one just happend to make the most money." Someone else commented, "I love both Marvin Gaye and Ed Sheeran. Just listened to both songs in as side by side fashion as I could get them....I think stealing part of Let's Get it On is a reach. Ijs."

One fan remarked on the situation, "Marvin Gaye's family just wants to get paid because saying he stole from him is quite a reach. But jury's and Judges can be very "political" so who knows." Another said, "These lawsuits are ridiculous. The law needs to catch up and understand how music works."

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