Did Ed Sheeran Just Admit He Stole ‘Photograph’?

Oh, Ed Sheeran, say it ain’t so! The singer just settled a $20 million copyright lawsuit in which he was accused of stealing the song “Photograph” from an X Factor winner.

To refresh your memory, two songwriters sued Sheeran last June and provided evidence that the chorus of “Photograph” shared 39 identical notes to their “Amazing,” which was written back in 2009.

And now the case has been quietly settled. Although all parties are staying mum on the amount of the settlement, we have reason to believe they scored big. For one, their lawyer Richard Busch was the same who successfully sued Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for “Blurred Lines” and won $7.4 million for his client. We’re gonna take a leap of faith that Busch is pretty damn good at his job.

ed sheeran lawsuit
source: Court Documents

Sheeran hasn’t officially commented on the lawsuit at all but is this settlement an admission of guilt? We hope not! Ed Sheeran first won our hearts for his originality and sweet nature so we hope fame has not gone to his head.

Since releasing “Photograph,” Sheeran has gone on to successfully release his single “Shape of You,” which instantly became a monster hit. He originally wrote the song for Rihanna but eventually decided to keep it for himself.

Lena Finkel
Lena Finkel is the Editor and Founder of Femestella and The Feminist Health Source. Prior to starting Femestella, she worked at People, InStyle, Tiger Beat, and Sesame Workshop (aka Sesame Street). She loves all things Real Housewives and The Challenge. When she's not busy binge-watching TV, you can find her taking an absurd amount of photos of her tuxedo cat Tom.