Earlier this week, Ed Sheeran opened up about his Irish heritage.
He even went as far to say that he identifies as Irish culturally.
Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast, Ed admitted: “I class my culture as Irish. I think that’s what I grew up with.
“We’d spend all of our holidays in Ireland. My first musical experiences were in Ireland, where I grew up with trad music in the house. So I identify culturally as Irish, but I was obviously born and raised in Britain.
@officiallouistheroux Tomorrow! @Ed Sheeran ♬ Jiggle Jiggle (feat. Duke & Jones) – Louis Theroux
“I do feel like my culture is something that I’m really proud of and grew up with and want to express.”
It wasn’t long before he was hit with backlash from people saying he simply couldn’t be Irish.
One person wrote: “Identifies just means to pretend,” while another said: “Made a song called “Galway Girl” and now thinks he’s Irish”.
However, Ed has defended his statement on social media hitting back at the naysayers.
“For anyone with an opinion after what I said about my heritage,” he wrote.
“My dad is Irish. My family is Irish. I have an Irish passport. The culture I was brought up around is Irish. The first music I learnt was Irish. Just coz I was born somewhere else doesn’t change my culture, I can be allowed to feel connection to a place half my family is from.”
Fair play, Ed, you tell ’em!
