Ed Sheeran in Court Over Alleged Plagiarism in ‘Thinking Out Loud’

He’s been accused of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’.

Ed Sheeran is in New York right now testifying in court over alleged plagiarism in his hit song ‘Thinking Out Loud’.

You might be wondering what on earth the iconic song could be connected to, but once you hear the similarities, you might not be able to unhear it.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

The court case argues that our fave British redhead has ripped off Marvin Gaye’s 70s classic, ‘Let’s Get It On’.

The Guardian reports that the lawsuit ‘alleges that Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge copied an ascending four-chord sequence, and its rhythm’.

Have a listen here – what do you think?

Ed’s been brought to court by Kathryn Griffin Townsend, daughter of Marvin Gaye’s co-writer on the song, Ed Townsend.

She appeared as a witness, saying she intended to “protect [her] father’s legacy”.

A musicologist came in for each party to defend their claims – Ed’s says that the chord sequence isn’t unique, giving examples of other artists using the same progression in their songs.

However, Kathryn’s musicologist described that the chords in each of the songs as “virtually interchangeable”, however they did acknowledge that the songs were slightly different.

To further prove the claim, Kathryn’s lawyers also played a video of Ed Sheeran performing a of a ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Let’s Get It On’ mashup from 2014.

The juiciest part of the trial was when Ed stated, “If I had 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.”

He was cut off by attorney Keisha Rice, he said, “I feel like you don’t want me to answer because you know what I’m going to say is actually going to make quite a lot of sense.”

Oop.

This isn’t the first time that Ed has been accused of plagiarism either. Another one of his hits ‘Photograph’ was accused of ripping off a tune from an X Factor winner (which he settled for an eye-watering $20 million), and last year he won another plagiarism case against him for ‘Shape of You’.

The trial is expected to last up to two weeks, according to the ABC.

Header Image: AP PHOTO/BRITTAINY NEWMAN.