Ed Sheeran would be “done” if he’s found liable of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On,” he said Monday — as he returned to the stand and again sang and strummed his guitar for a Manhattan jury.
The British singer-songwriter expressed the toll the copyright infringement case has had on him, as his attorney Ilene Farkas asked what would happen if the trial – which began last week in federal court – doesn’t pan out his way.
“If that happens, I’m done – I’m stopping,” Sheeran, 32, responded.
“I find it really insulting to work my whole life as a singer-songwriter and diminish it.”
Sheeran’s apparent admission that the trial could lead to the end of his career followed earlier questioning by his lawyer about live performances and the writing of his song “Thinking Out Loud” — parts of which he’s accused of lifting from Gaye’s 1973 R&B classic.
But the “Shape of You” singer denied that he’d ripped off Gaye’s song to write his own 2014 hit.
“Did you copy anything from ‘Let’s Get it On’ when you wrote ‘Thinking Out Loud?’” Farkas asked Sheeran.
“No,” he responded sharply.
The four-time Grammy award-winning musician – who last week performed a snippet of “Thinking Out Loud” during his testimony – belted out various mashups of Van Morrison songs for the courtroom on Monday.
He strummed a four-chord sequence he’s accused of stealing from “Let’s Get it On” as part of his rendition of Morrison tracks, including “Tupelo Honey” and “Crazy Love.”
Sheeran also clapped back at the plaintiffs’ musicologist Alexander Stewart, who argued last week that the first 24 seconds of “Thinking Out Loud” were similar to the beginning of “Let’s Get it On.”
“If I have to be honest, what he’s doing here is criminal,” Sheeran said, before questioning Stewart’s credentials. “… I don’t know how he could be an expert. Obviously, just my opinion here.”
Before he got on the stand, Sheeran embraced Kathryn Townsend Griffin – the daughter of late Ed Townsend, co-writer of “Let’s Get it On” with Gaye — who is one of the plaintiffs suing him.
The two shared a handshake and lengthy hug before exchanging few words following Townsend Griffin’s return to Justice Louis Stanton’s courtroom after she suddenly collapsed during proceedings last week.