After some fans criticised Ed Sheeran's statement that he identified "culturally as Irish", the singer has said he is "allowed to feel connection" to a place his family is from.
The singer-songwriter, who was born in West Yorkshire and raised in Suffolk, appeared on The Louis Theroux podcast, where he spoke about his large Irish family, including his Belfast-born father, and how he spent his holidays in the country as a child.
However, some fans did not take too kindly to Sheeran's revelations and took to X to share their thoughts.
One user wrote: "Identifies just means to pretend", while another said: "That Galway Girl must've spun his head around."
Taking to Instagram Stories on Wednesday, Sheeran posted a message to "anyone with an opinion after what I said about my heritage".
"My dad is Irish. My family is Irish. I have an Irish passport," he wrote. "The culture I was brought up around is Irish."
"The first music I learnt was Irish. Just coz I was born somewhere else doesn't change my culture, I can be allowed to feel connection to a place half my family is from."
Speaking to Theroux, Sheeran spoke about how he was proud of his Irish heritage.
"So I identify culturally as Irish, but I was obviously born and raised in Britain," he said.
"I do feel like my culture is something that I'm really proud of and grew up with and want to express.
"And I feel like just because I was born in Britain doesn’t necessarily mean that I have to just be (British), there’s loads of people I know that are half this or quarter this."
The hitmaker also stated that Ireland was his "second home musically" and the place he is "most successful musically".
