- Ed Sheeran testified on Monday in his plagiarism trial in federal court in Manhattan.
- The singer is accused of copying Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" for his 2015 hit "Thinking Out Loud."
Ed Sheeran vowed to be "done" if a jury finds him guilty of plagiarizing Marvin Gaye's 1973 soul classic.
The chart-topping singer $4. He's been accused of copying "Let's Get It On" to create $4
"If that happens, I'm done, I'm stopping," Sheeran said when asked about the toll the copyright trial is taking on him, according to the $4. He was apparently referring to his $4 music career.
"I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it," he continued.
Sheeran is being sued by relatives of Gaye's songwriting partner, Ed Townsend, including his daughter $4, his sister Helen McDonald, and the estate of his late wife, Cherrigale.
Townsend's relatives $4 that "Thinking Out Loud" bears "striking similarities" to "Let's Get It On," including a similar chord progression.
Sheeran has denied the allegations and told the court on Monday that "Thinking Out Loud" is a unique composition.
"I know the chords that I'm playing on that guitar," he said in a heated exchange with a plaintiff's lawyer, as reported by Insider's Laura Italiano.
He previously told the court that "pop songs are built on building blocks that have been freely available for hundreds of years," per $4.
Townsend's relatives are seeking an unspecified payout and hoping to bar Sheeran from performing "Thinking Out Loud" at live shows.
Gaye's children previously won $5 million after suing Pharrell and Robin Thicke for copyright infringement in 2015.
A jury found the artists guilty of co-opting pieces from Gaye's "Got To Give It Up" for their 2013 hit "Blurred Lines." It's now seen as $4, with artists like Questlove warning that $4.