Ed Sheeran has threatened to quit the music industry if found guilty in a lawsuit. He is currently being sued by Ed Townsend’s heirs, who claim that there are “striking similarities” between Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and Townsend’s ‘Let’s Get it On’.
Ed Sheeran said on Monday he would quit music if he is found guilty of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s soul classic ‘Let’s Get it On,’ saying the claims are ‘insulting.’
The 32-year-old British singer-songwriter vehemently denied the claims he infringed upon Gaye and his co-writer Ed Townsend’s 1973 hit when he wrote and composed ‘Thinking Out Loud’ as he took the stand in Manhattan federal court.
He even vowed that if the jury does find him guilty, he will be ‘done’ with music.
‘If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping,’ Sheeran said when asked by his attorney Ilene Farkas about the toll the trial is taking on him.
‘I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it,’ the ‘Shape of You’ singer added.
Sheeran is being sued by Townsend’s heirs, who claim there are ‘striking similarities’ between the tracks. They are seeking a whopping $100million in restitution.
At the Manhattan federal court last week, lawyers for Townsend’s heirs displayed a video of Sheeran transitioning seamlessly between ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Let’s Get it On’ during a live performance.
Doing so, they said, amounted to a confession that he had ripped off the song.
But in court on Monday, Sheeran said he and other performers frequently perform ‘mash ups,’ and that he had on other occasions combined ‘Thinking Out Loud’ with Van Morrison’s ‘Crazy in Love’ and Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You.’
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