Ed Sheeran addresses comments about his Irish identity

Fans have criticised the singer's statement on his identity

The singer-songwriter, born in West Yorkshire, raised in Suffolk, spoke on The Louis Theroux podcast about his Irish family, including his father, born in Belfast.

During the interview, Sheeran said he identifies culturally as Irish. The comments were hit with major backlash online, but Sheeran has defended the remarks.

Sheeran responded to the backlash on his Instagram story.

"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 a connection to a place half my family is from."

Sheeran stated on the podcast:

"So I identify culturally as Irish, but I was obviously born and raised in Britain."

"I do feel like my culture is something that I'm really proud of and grew up with and want to express."

"And I feel like just because I was born in Britain doesn’t necessarily mean that I have to just be (British), there’s loads of people I know that are half this or quarter this."

Many fans shared their opinion following the podcast episode on social media.

On X, one person wrote:

"He’s British. It’s a disgrace that he can appropriate Irish culture in this way."

"Not Ed Sheeran giving Irish American, ur English bab, born and raised x", said another.

Others have come to the singer's defence:

"Ultimately ethnic identity is about tribe. You are either born into a tribe or you're not. This has deep roots in Europe. Multicultural media ignore it but it's fundamental: Ed Sheeran has as much right to call himself Irish as The Pogues or The Smiths", one wrote.