Ed Sheeran Misses Grandmother's Funeral Due To Mandatory Attendance For Copyright Lawsuit In America

Ed Sheeran, a British singer-songwriter and guitarist, first gained widespread recognition with his debut album, "+," in 2011. Known for his emotive lyrics and soulful voice, Sheeran quickly became a global sensation. His subsequent albums, "x" (2014) and "÷" (2017), solidified his status as one of the world's most successful musicians. With numerous chart-topping hits like "Thinking Out Loud," "Shape of You," and "Perfect," Sheeran has earned multiple Grammy Awards and other accolades. However, he is currently facing some challenges in both his professional and personal life.

Ed Sheeran Misses Grandmother's Funeral Due to Mandatory Attendance for Copyright Lawsuit in America

Ed Sheeran is facing a copyright-infringement trial in a Manhattan federal court, where he is being accused of plagiarizing Marvin Gaye's classic "Let's Get It On" for his 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud." The 32-year-old singer has been vigorously defending himself against the allegations. Because of the court case scheduling, the four-time Grammy winner was forced to miss his grandmother's funeral in Ireland on Wednesday.

Ed's father, John, delivered a eulogy for his 98-year-old mother, Anne Sheeran, also known as Nancy, née Mulligan. He acknowledged his son's absence, noting that Ed was "so upset that he cannot be present" and had to be "thousands of miles away in a court in America defending his integrity."  John says he Ed "is comforted by the fact that he was able to spend some precious time alone with his grandma just a month ago.”

Ed's grandmother was an inspiration for his 2017 song "Nancy Mulligan." Unable to attend the funeral at St. Patrick's Church in County Wexford, he watched the service online from a distance. Anne "Nancy" Sheeran, who lived to be 98, was laid to rest on Wednesday in Ireland.

This situation is the latest in a series of difficult events for Ed. He recently opened up about the "horrible month" last year in his Disney+ docuseries "Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All," which was released on the same day as his grandmother's funeral. During this time, he was struggling with his wife Cherry Seaborn's cancer diagnosis and mourning the loss of his best friend, British music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards, who played a significant role in his early career.

Sheeran revealed that while his wife, who was six months pregnant at the time of her diagnosis, gave birth to their baby and had her tumor removed, he has continued to grapple with Jamal's passing. "Life hasn't moved on for me yet, and I don't actually think it will," Sheeran said in the docuseries.

The singer-songwriter, who is set to release a new album titled "Subtract" on Friday, also shared that experiencing grief has been a transformative experience for him. "I'd never been to a burial," he said. "Like, I hadn't really grown up until I felt grief. Loss — it just took over my life."

When the news of Ed missing out on his grandmother's funeral was shared on Twitter, there were many people in the comment section who left cruel remarks about how Ed's PR team is simply using this for his professional gain. Some users even claim this is some kind of payback for supposedly plagiarizing music.

"Not his PR team using his rotting granny for some sympathy," someone wrote.

"Maybe don’t steal black music and he wouldn’t have to miss his ancestors burial," someone tweeted.

@ThePopTingz was forced to turn off the comments on their tweet due to all the vitriol that was being thrown at Ed.