Ed Sheeran's cousin calls singer a 'coward'

British musician Jethro Sheeran weighs in on Macklemore controversy

Ed Sheeran's cousin, Jethro Sheeran, has publicly criticised the singer amid controversy over Macklemore's removal from the Loop Tour.

Jethro, a British musician known professionally as Alonestar, shared his comments on Instagram on September 17, saying he was "ashamed" of his cousin.

He also alleged that Ed had mistreated him personally and professionally.

"Finally it's all coming out! I'm ashamed of my Cousin Ed," Jethro wrote. "Finally the world and all his fans see through him. He's not a good person, I don't like his music so I can't say he's even a good artist."

Jethro further accused the singer of being selfish and making fun of his mental health. He claimed he had supported Ed's early music career, including taking him to a studio and performing on early songs.

Addressing Macklemore's removal from the tour, Jethro added, "He is shady and he's dropped Macklemore himself I believe 100% he's a coward."

The controversy followed Macklemore's performances at Ed's MetLife Stadium concerts, where he chanted "Free Palestine" and performed his protest song

"Hind's Hall".

The rapper was subsequently removed from the remaining eight Loop Tour dates.

At a Philadelphia concert on September 19, Ed addressed the backlash, acknowledging that he had made mistakes and apologising to fans.

"This week, the criticism was about something much more important, and I've had to take [it in] and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I'm so so sorry."

Ed Sheeran has had a stellar music career. His third album, ÷ ("Divide") (2017), became the best-selling album worldwide of 2017 and charted ten top-10 singles on the UK singles chart. Its joint-lead singles, "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill", broke records in several countries by debuting in the top two positions on the charts.

Sheeran has sold 200 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists. He has 119 million RIAA-certified units in the US, and two of his albums are in the list of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. In December 2019, the Official Charts Company named him its artist of the decade, with the most combined success in the UK album and singles charts in the 2010s. As of September 2026, he is the fourth-most-followed artist on Spotify. Several of his tours are amongst the most-attended concert tours, and his ÷ Tour became the highest-grossing of all time in August 2019. An alumnus of the National Youth Theatre in London, Sheeran's acting roles include appearing in the 2019 film Yesterday, playing himself. In 2025, Time magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people.