Ed Sheeran’s cousin Jethro Sheeran is doubling down on his claims that the musician is a “coward” amid ongoing drama surrounding Macklemore being dropped from Ed’s tour.
“We were pretty close. But early on, I saw the snake in him,” Jethro, 44, claimed of Ed, 35, in his first onscreen interview for Piers Morgan Uncensored, airing in its entirety on Friday, September 25, via YouTube. “He’s very talented and people think I’m jealous. But jealous of what? His looks? His guitar? His singing?”
Jethro, a British musician known professionally as Alonestar, alleged that he took Ed on stage and to the studio “for the first time, and then he just kind of went his own way.”
He claimed the Grammy winner was “doing all my shows and supporting me there, and then he kind of went and just blew up, and then just completely left everything that we built behind.”
Jethro, who worked with Ed on 2010’s “Raise ‘Em Up,” continued, “Seeing what he did to Macklemore I believe he kicked him off that show. I believe he did it with his team and then he blamed the promoter.”
Us has reached out to Ed’s rep for comment.
Earlier this month, Macklemore, 43, was cut from Ed’s Loop Tour after he made controversial statements on stage about the Free Palestine movement.
Ed alleged in a September 15 statement that he tried to “build bridges,” but it was “the promoter’s decision” to pull Macklemore from future performances.
Amid the drama, Macklemore has vowed to give a $1 million donation to six organizations that support Palestinians. Ed, meanwhile, lost all of his other opening acts as other musicians opted out in an act of solidarity with the “Thrift Shop” performer.
Jethro, for his part, told Piers Morgan that he has allegedly “witnessed” Ed “being a coward for almost 10 years and lying.” (Jethro previously slammed Ed via Instagram earlier this month.)
“That’s just my own truth. I’m here to tell the truth,” Jethro claimed. “I think it was a coward move for him to do it, blame the promoters. And then Macklemore himself said, ‘Ed kicked me off the tour’, and now Ed said that he begged him to come on the tour and he just turns his back.”
While Jethro admitted he hasn’t spoken to the “Shape of You” singer in about six or seven years, he still had strong feelings about Ed and the situation he’s found himself in.
“I just think Ed’s a coward for ditching [Macklemore] because I wouldn’t, 13 years of friendship is more important than getting a phone call [from the person] who owns the stadium,” he quipped, referring to Ed allegedly dropping Macklemore after Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft threatened to cut his tour stop if the rapper stayed as an opening act. (Kraft, 85, announced on Friday that Ed’s concerts at Gillette would no longer take place as planned.)
In the wake of the controversy, Ed broke down mid-show, claiming that his loved ones had “abandoned” him once he made negative headlines.
Jethro, however, claimed that Ed was “crying for himself.”
Despite his issues with Ed and how he handled the tour backlash, Jethro alleged that he is “happy” for his cousin’s success.
“I don’t hate, I just think he’s a coward because of what he’s done, and he’s done some bad things,” Jethro said. “I’m disappointed in him, and I think he’s turning his back on a lot of people, and he deserves everything he’s getting right now and everyone is seeing through him.”
Watch the full interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored via YouTube on Friday, September 25, at 7 p.m. ET.
