Woman accusing Ed Sheeran of copying Marvin Gaye's hit collapses in court

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The woman accusing Ed Sheeran of copying Marvin Gaye’s hit ‘Let’s Get It On’ collapsed in the courtroom.

Kathryn Griffin Townsend — who is suing the ‘Thinking Out Loud’ singer for allegedly ripping off the 1973 classic co-written by her late father Ed Townsend — fell ill on Wednesday (26.04.23).

As the trial continued in Manhattan Federal Court, Kathryn slumped over and left the courtroom with the help of her family and legal counsel.

She then collapsed once she was outside the doors and was lying on the ground while someone shouted for a medic.

Judge Louis L. Stanton later announced that she had been taken to hospital.

Although her lawyer has not disclosed the reason for her fainting, they said she has a pre-existing medical condition.

At the time she collapsed, music expert Alexander Stewart was being cross-examined.

During his testimony, he outlined the similarities between ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Let’s Get It On’, noting “the same harmonic rhythm” as well as melodic similarities in the verse, chorus and bridge.

At one point, a computer-generated rendition of ‘Let’s Get It On’ was played in court, which Kathryn admitted would have made her father “laugh”.

Sheeran, 32, took to the stand on Tuesday (25.04.23) to defend himself in the copyright infringement case and insisted he would have been an “idiot” to perform a mash up of ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get it On’ if he’d ripped off the latter song.

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Kathryn Townsend Griffin, daughter of singer-songwriter Ed Townsend, followed by attorney Benjamin Crump, leaves Manhattan federal court after testimony in the copyright infringement suit against British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, April 25, 2023, in New York.Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images

Referencing footage of him performing the medley at a concert in 2014, he argued it was not the “smoking gun” her lawyers claimed it to be.

He said: “You could go from ‘Let it Be’ to ‘No Woman, No Cry’ and switch back.

“If I had done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be a quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that.

“It is my belief that most pop songs are built on building blocks that have been freely available for 100s of years.”