Ed Sheeran quits music after being found guilty of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get it On’

Ed Sheeran said Monday he would quit music if found guilty of ripping Marvin Gaye’s soul classic “Let’s Get it On,” saying the allegations are “insulting.”

The 32-year-old British singer-songwriter vehemently denied claims he infringed Gaye and his co-writer Ed Townsend’s 1973 hit when he wrote and composed “Thinking Out Loud” when he took the stand in federal court on Monday from Manhattan.

He even promised that if the jury found him guilty, he would be “done” with music.

“If that happens, I’m done, I’ll stop,” Sheeran said when asked by his lawyer Ilene Farkas about the toll the trial is taking on him.

“I find it really insulting to dedicate my whole life to being an artist and a songwriter and have someone diminish it,” the “Shape of You” singer added.

Sheeran is being sued by Townsend’s heirs, who claim there are “striking similarities” between the songs. They are seeking as much as $100 million in restitution.

The 32-year-old British singer-songwriter strummed the chords he’s accused of lifting Marvin Gaye’s 1973 hit ‘Let’s Get it On’ when he took the stand

In Manhattan federal court, lawyers for the Townsend heirs last week showed a video of Sheeran transitioning seamlessly between “Thinking Out Loud” and “Let’s Get it On” during a live performance.

This, according to them, amounted to an admission that he ripped off the song.

But in court on Monday, Sheeran said he and other artists regularly perform “mash-ups” and on other occasions had paired “Thinking Out Loud” with Van Morrison’s “Crazy in Love” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” . ‘

“I mix songs at a lot of gigs. Many songs have similar chords. You can go from “Let It Be” to “No Woman No Cry” and switch back,” he said.

“And honestly, if I had done what you’re accusing me of, I’d be quite an idiot to get on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that,” he added.

He also noted that his hit song was actually inspired by Irish musician Van Morrison.

To prove his point, the singer strummed the four-chord sequence he’s accused of taking from “Let’s Get it On,” as part of his rendition of Morrison songs, including “Tupelo Honey” and “Crazy Love.” .

The singer also lashed out at plaintiff’s expert witness, 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.”

Stewart said in court that they “have the same harmonic rhythm,” pointing out melodic similarities in the verse, chorus, and interlude.

A computer-generated version of Let’s Get it On was played in court during Stewart’s testimony, which took the entire proceedings on Wednesday.

Insider reported that laughter erupted in the courtroom as the computer-generated version of Let’s Get it On was played to emphasize the similarities between the songs.

But in transcribing the song, Sheeran said, Stewart had changed it to make the chords and melody sound more like Gaye’s song.

“If I’m being honest, what he’s doing here is criminal,” Sheeran said. “I don’t know why he should be an expert.”

Sheeran later became belligerent under cross-examination by Patrick Frank, a lawyer for the heirs, brushing aside discrepancies between him and his co-writer Amy Wadge’s accounts of when and how exactly “Thinking Out Loud” was written in February 2014.

He mocked Frank’s questions about how often Sheeran collaborates with others in songwriting, which he said was common.

“You’re not really breaking new ground here,” he said.

Sheeran is accused of taking the beginning of his hit “Thinking Out Loud” from Marvin Gaye’s soul classic “Let’s Get it On.” Gaye is pictured here in 1973

Kathryn Townsend Griffin, the daughter of Gaye’s co-writer Ed Townsend, is photographed out of court on Monday

Townsend’s family is represented by famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump, pictured here entering court Monday

The singer had previously described his process for writing the song about eternal love shortly after he started a new romantic relationship and after his grandfather died.

“I draw a lot of inspiration from things in my life and family,” Sheeran said.

Sheeran said Wadge started strumming the chords for the song while visiting his home in England, and they collaborated on the lyrics.

In the stands, he sang the line “I’m singing out now,” which he says he sang during his songwriting session with Wadge.

His song topped the charts in both the UK and the United States. In 2016, it won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year, but in 2017 Townsend’s family sued for copyright infringement.

If Sheeran is found liable, there will be a second trial to determine the amount of damages.