Ed Sheeran has dismissed reports claiming he attended J.K. Rowling’s New Years Eve party, calling them “divisive and damaging”. The ‘Shape Of You’ songwriter responded to a post from transgender newsreader and broadcaster India Willoughby. She shared an image of a story from the Jerusalem Post, titled ‘How Ed Sheeran brought joy to wounded IDF [Israel Defence Force] soldiers’.
Willoughby captioned the image, saying “Ed Sheeran reportedly went to JK Rowling’s New Year’s Eve party, too.” Sheeran later replied via his Instagram story, saying “Respectfully, India Willoughby, and any other journalist who has reported both these stories, neither are true,” he wrote above a screenshot of Willoughby’s tweet.
He explained that he “spent New Year with [his] family and friends”, and that “The story about wounded soldiers at my show, was a charity that sourced tickets to my show in Cyprus last year, which was a large-scale public concert,”
He then addressed the writers, warning them that “This sort of reporting is [divisive] and damaging, please research before you post things.”
A statement from Ed on his IG Stories earlier today. – EDHQ pic.twitter.com/RqNtK05e2l
— Ed Sheeran HQ (@edsheeran) January 21, 2025
Willoughby then replied to Sheeran, saying it was “great to hear” that he didn’t attend Rowling’s party. She then added that she “used the word ‘reportedly’,” and that the story had been widely reported by UK and international media at the time.
“I also reached out directly to you in the first [week] of Jan via Twitter to ask if the story was correct – but no reply,” she continued. “Delighted to hear you didn’t go!”
The report about Rowling’s NYE party was published by The Sun, according to People. The article has since removed any mention of Ed Sheeran.
After their back and forth, Willoughby posted that she’d heard directly “from the source” that Ed “DID NOT attend JK Rowling’s New Years Eve party”.
Last year, she reported Rowling to the police for misgendering her online. The complaint didn’t “reach the criminal threshold” and no further action was taken.
J.K. Rowling has become quite a divisive figure to some, through her views on gender and the trans community. For years she has stirred controversy through her outspoken opinions, and has been labelled a “TERF” (transgender exclusionary radical feminist).
Transphobia accusations against her started in 2019, when she defended a British researcher named Maya Forstater, who lost her job after sharing transphobic comments on social media. In 2020, Rowling wrote an opinion piece on her website titled ‘J.K. Rowling Writes about Her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues’. In the post, she discussed why she stood up for Forstater, and also why she was worried about “the new trans activism”.
The piece drew backlash from fans, and even actors involved in the Harry Potter films. Daniel Radcliffe, who’s worked with LGBTQIA+ charity The Trevor Project for many years, said that “It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and non-binary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, and Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) also issued statements supporting trans people.
In 2020, Rowling released a book under her known pen name, Robert Galbraith. The novel ‘Troubled Blood‘ follows the investigation into the case of a male murderer who dresses as a woman to lure his victims. Some saw this plot to be another indicator of her anti-trans views.
More recently, the Harry Potter author has been caught up in controversy after making comments about Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who took gold in the women’s boxing at the 2024 Olympics. Khelif is now pressing charges in a lawsuit that accuses a number of X users, including J.K. and Elon Musk, of hateful cyberbullying.
Due to her problematic posts and opinions, many Harry Potter fans have objected to Rowling’s involvement in the upcoming TV adaption of the book and film series. Despite this, she’s confirmed to be “fairly involved” in the project.
Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran is readying to release his next album, a “big pop” record that may see him go back to the upbeat sounds of ‘Divide’ – more on that here.
