Ed Sheeran’s cousin Jethro Sheeran has publicly torn into the pop megastar on Facebook, calling him a “coward” and a “bad human” in a series of scathing posts.
Jethro’s animosity arose after his relative vowed to continue with his ongoing US tour despite support act Macklemore’s dismissal.
The 44-year-old, who has long had a fractious relationship with his famous relative, wrote: “Finally it’s all coming out! I’m ashamed of my cousin Ed and what he’s done.”
He added: “Finally, the world and all his fans see through him. He’s not a good person, I don’t like his music, so I can’t say he’s even a good artist.”
Ed Sheeran’s cousin Jethro Sheeran has launched a scathing attack on the singer
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FACEBOOK/JETHRO SHEERAN
Jethro went on to claim that the 35-year-old Shape of You singer was personally responsible for removing Macklemore from his US Loop Tour, writing: “Ed Sheeran! He is shady, and he’s dropped Macklemore himself. I believe 100 per cent he’s a coward.”
He continued: “In my opinion, he’s a bad human. Just my opinion from my experiences.”
The outburst is rooted in a family rift that stretches back years.
The pair were reportedly close as children, spending school holidays writing and recording music together before Ed’s meteoric rise to fame drove a wedge between them.
The global popstar said he attempted to find a solution after venues threatened to cancel upcoming shows
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GETTYTheir falling out centred on a track called Raise Em Up, which the cousins recorded together in 2010 and subsequently appeared in the 2013 film All Stars.
Jethro later produced a remix that credited Ed and featured the singer’s image on its artwork, which he claims was in the hope of raising funds for his daughter Skyla Rain Sheeran’s budding music career.
He later claimed Warner Music threatened him with legal action unless Ed’s face and name were removed from the artwork. Jethro has previously claimed his cousin “screwed him over” once fame arrived. GB News has contacted Ed’s representatives for comment on Jethro’s claims.
The family drama unfolds against the backdrop of a far larger crisis engulfing the Grammy winner’s US tour.
Jethro Sheeran branded his famous cousin a ‘coward’ and a ‘bad human’
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FACEBOOK/JETHRO SHEERAN
Macklemore had been booked to open for his longtime friend at eight of the final 10 Loop Tour dates, but was pulled from the remaining shows after his performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4 and 5.
During those two sets, the Thrift Shop rapper donned a keffiyeh, delivered pro-Palestinian speeches and told the crowd: “Free Palestine.”
Venues scheduled to host subsequent dates allegedly informed organisers they would cancel their shows if Macklemore stayed on the bill.
Ed has firmly maintained that the call was not his to make.
“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision; it was not mine,” he stated, explaining that the rapper’s contract was held by the promoter rather than by him directly.
He said he spent days trying to broker a compromise but was unable to override the venues.
The fallout has extended well beyond the Sheeran family.
Several of Ed’s remaining support acts, Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga, pulled out of upcoming dates in solidarity with Macklemore.
Jethro Sheeran claimed he believes his cousin was personally responsible for Macklemore’s removal
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FACEBOOK/JETHRO SHEERAN
The rapper’s stance has drawn backing from a number of high-profile figures.
Lewis Hamilton wrote: “Thank you for using your voice, standing with you.”
Greta Thunberg expressed “full solidarity” with both Macklemore and Palestine, while Paloma Faith called him a “rare and important voice.”
Pink, however, distanced herself from the rapper’s political messaging.
In a lengthy social media statement, the 47-year-old addressed a repost she had shared about Macklemore’s set, conceding: “A repost isn’t a statement, and a meme isn’t a spine.”
She added: “I was born a Jew. I didn’t pick it, and I’ve never hidden it,” before stating that she does not “speak for Israel or for any government.”
Ed also addressed why audiences should not expect him to voice political opinions from the stage.
He said there was a deliberate reason he keeps politics off his “professional platform,” noting that his crowds include young people and fans from hugely varied backgrounds who attend his concerts seeking “unity, joy, escapism, love.”
Macklemore and Ed Sheeran had been friends for more than a decade before the tour controversy
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GETTYHe described himself as “appalled” by the Israel-Palestine conflict and the suffering it has wrought.
The controversy has taken a measurable toll on the singer’s public standing, as he shed more than 200,000 Instagram followers within a single 24-hour period as the row intensified.