Ed Sheeran in Court

After being accused of stealing Marvin Gaye’s classic song, “Let’s Get It On,” Ed Sheeran appeared in New York federal court and testified in his defense. On Tuesday (4-25), he said, “If I’d done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be an idiot to stand on stage in front of 20,000 people and do that.”

He explained that it was his belief that most pop songs are “built on building blocks that have been freely available for hundreds of years.”

The copyright infringement case compares the Marvin Gaye song to his 2014 hit, “Thinking Out Loud”.

The lawsuit was brought forth by the heirs of the late songwriter Ed Townsend, who wrote the Marvin Gaye song.