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Ed Sheeran Responds to Party Attendance Rumors and Clarifies Charity Performance

In a recent Instagram post, musician Ed Sheeran took a stand against unfounded speculation about his attendance at a New Year’s Eve party hosted by J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. Sheeran also addressed inaccuracies regarding his performance for injured soldiers, aiming to set the record straight.

The discussion began when broadcasting personality India Willoughby shared a post on X, highlighting a 2024 article that claimed, “How Ed Sheeran brought joy to wounded IDF soldiers — opinion.” In her commentary, Willoughby suggested that Sheeran had also been at Rowling’s party, a report initially detailed by The Sun.

Sheeran quickly countered these claims on his Instagram Story, asserting, “Neither are true.” He elaborated that he celebrated the arrival of 2025 surrounded by close family and friends. “The story about wounded soldiers at my show was a charity that sourced tickets to my show in Cyprus last year, which was a large scale public concert,” he added, referring to his September concert. He expressed disappointment with the nature of such reporting, stating, “This sort of reporting is [divisive] and damaging; please research before you post things.”

In response to Sheeran’s comments, Willoughby defended her post on X, indicating that she had used the term “reportedly” because the information had been widely circulated by various media outlets. She claimed to have reached out to Sheeran for clarification early in January and shared a follow-up post showcasing screenshots of tabloid articles that propagated the rumor about Sheeran’s attendance, mentioning that the original sources had since denied the claims. Notably, The Sun has since removed any references to Sheeran from its reporting on the event.

This incident occurs against the backdrop of ongoing controversies surrounding Rowling, who has faced substantial backlash for her comments regarding transgender issues. Numerous actors from the Harry Potter film series, including Daniel Radcliffe, have publicly distanced themselves from her views, expressing disappointment. Furthermore, Rowling attracted criticism during the Summer Olympics for her comments about Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, questioning her status as a biological woman. Khelif has since filed a criminal complaint against Rowling and Elon Musk, the owner of X, concerning cyberbullying allegations.

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www.rollingstone.com