Ed Sheeran branded ‘ignorant’ for his comments about alcoholism

Americans aren’t happy with Ed Sheeran thanks to his comments about British drinking culture.

The award-winning songwriter, 35, has been accused of defending ‘functional alcoholism’ and ‘justifying drinking’ by some social media users, as hundreds weighed in on the difference in attitudes across the pond.

Ed made the remarks in an old podcast appearance, but awoke to his name trending on X when a resurfaced clip went viral and clocked up well over one million views.

During the interview with US comedian Theo Von, Ed recalled going out for ‘three pints’ and a catch-up with one of his best friends in the States.

‘I’m generalising, not everyone loves drinking,’ he prefaced. ‘But I would say, like, 80% of people in England love a beer.

‘You would go out, and instead of getting s**t canned every time you go out… I would go to these sports bars, and everyone in the sports bar in America would be going with the sole purpose to be dribbly drunk by the end of the night, taken home in an Uber.

‘Whereas, in England, and Ireland, and Scotland, and Wales, it’s a regular thing, with my friendship group anyway, to have maybe one or two pints at the end of a workday.

‘And then maybe on a Friday you’ll have, like, six pints, a bottle of wine, you’ll go out and do the shots… but it’s far more just part of the culture to do it regularly.’

Ed then stated that it’s ‘not alcoholism to drink every day here (in England)’, whereas in America, ‘if you drank every day, it’d be alcoholism’.

‘Obviously, people take it too far [in England] as well, but the general thing, I think, is that…’, Ed began again before putting it out to the room.

A crew member then said ‘every event’ is treated ‘with a beer’, whether it’s something happy or something sad, from weddings to funerals.

‘But it’s not alcoholism – it’s the culture, I should say,’ Ed reiterated.

‘It’s not like I wake up every morning like, “I need a beer tonight.”

‘You’ll get to the end of the day, and your mate will be like, “I’m in central London, do you wanna go for a beer?” rather than like, “I need a beer!”‘

Ed then defended Ireland against ‘misconceptions’, saying he doesn’t like how people view it as ‘an alcoholic country’.

‘We can have a good time, and it’s the same in England, but it’s just the culture.’

‘We drink from a very young age – irresponsibly or responsibly – I had my first beer when I was, like, 12, 13,’ he recalled. ‘And you learn how to manage your alcohol by the age of 16.

‘Whereas I think, in America, it’s very much 17, 18, 19; maybe it’s even just getting to college for the first time when you’re then finding out what your boundaries are.’

While the comments were made nonchalantly as part of the 90-minute chat, they’ve rubbed many people up the wrong way, with some calling it a ‘dumb take’ and others reminding Ed that ‘alcohol has the same effect on your organs, regardless of culture’.

Replying to the viral clip, @GaryMorton91799, from Canada, wrote: ‘6 pints and a bottle of wine could raise blood alcohol to as much as 0.40%+. You could black out, finding out the next day that you committed a terrible crime you can’t remember. It is also at the threshold of alcohol poisoning.’

@civil_savage86 called Ed ‘ignorant’, explaining: ‘Having 2 or 3 drinks every day in America isn’t considered alcoholism. Drinking to the point where it interferes with other aspects of your life (relationships, work, etc) is alcoholism, and that’s true regardless of what side of the pond you’re on.’

‘Calling an addiction “culture” is crazy’, said @Skeezyy77, while @fidgetsfive wrote: ‘That’s called functional alcoholism’.

‘My ex-husband became a chronic, violent alcoholic who drank himself to death. He started out saying something similar’, added @wck47l as @uncle_finesse said: ‘Brother in Christ, have you ever stopped to consider that your culture might be one of alcoholism?’

The divide grew, however, when Brits entered the discussion, with even Piers Morgan weighing in and laughing: ‘We Brits just have a stronger constitution than Americans, @edsheeran – ironically.’

Others stated they believe that Ed is ‘absolutely right’, while the likes of @titanflux said he was describing ‘London drinking culture’ specifically.

Ed is no stranger to speaking about boozing, of course, given that he has a tune called Drunk.

However, the Shape of You hitmaker did a 180 with his lifestyle choices ahead of fatherhood. Ed shares daughters Lyra and Jupiter with his wife of seven years, Cherry Seaborn.

At one point, Ed was consuming up to 10 pints a night, previously telling Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that he ‘loved drinking’. Then, he had a conversation with Cherry while she was pregnant with their first baby.

He said last year: ‘Two months before Lyra was born, Cherry said, “If my waters break, do you really want someone else to drive me to the hospital?” Because I was just drinking a lot.’

Ed added to Rolling Stone: ‘I was like, “No, actually, I really don’t.” And I don’t ever want to be p***ed holding my kid. Ever, ever.’

Still, he’s never intended to be sober forever: ‘Having a couple of beers is one thing. But having a bottle of vodka is another thing.

‘I love red wine, and I love beer. I don’t know any old rockers that aren’t alcoholics or sober, and I didn’t want to be either.’

Ed also confronted his stance on drug use when his close friend Jamal Edwards died aged 31 in 2022. Having played a major role in launching Ed’s career, he suffered a cardiac arrest that was attributed to cocaine use and alcohol.

The Don’t singer first took drugs in his twenties at a festival and proceeded to ‘dabble’ in using them regularly.

Now, though, he believes that it would be ‘disrespectful’ to his late pal’s memory if he were to ever take drugs again himself.