Ed Sheeran vows to quit music if he loses Marvin Gaye lawsuit

When his attorney Ilene Farkas asked about what kind of toll the trial is taking on him, Sheeran replied: "I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it."

He has vowed that if he is found guilty of plagiarism, he will quit music: "If that happens, I'm done, I'm stopping".

In 2016, Ed Sheeran was sued by Ed Townsend – one of the co-writers on the classic 1973 Marvin Gaye track, noting striking similarities in the four-chord sequence that Sheeran used on "Thinking Out Loud". Townsend is seeking $100 million in restitutions.

The prosecutors gathered that Sheeran had essentially "admitted" to copyright after creating a mashup with seamlessly transitioned between the two songs. Sheeran responded by noting that other performers frequently perform 'mash ups,' and that he had on other occasions combined "Thinking Out Loud" with Van Morrison's "Crazy in Love" and Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You".

"I mash up songs at lots 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 quite frankly, if I'd done what you're accusing me of doing, I'd be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that," he added.