An Open Letter to the People Suing Ed Sheeran

The news broke late Wednesday night that Ed Sheeran is being sued $20 million for plagiarism. When I opened my computer and saw the headlines, I thought this had to be a joke. Ed Sheeran is a genuine songwriter, and you can't convince me otherwise.

Ed Sheeran built himself on his own with nothing but hard work. He was playing gigs where he could get them constantly and sleeping on couches or wherever he could find a spot. He had no money and an acoustic guitar. Ed built a career out of live shows.

"I think the key is not to have a plan B, so basically hard work and persistence until it works out, so just not to have a backup plan. The only option is to succeed," said Sheeran in an interview regarding his visual autobiography.

He broke the charts with his first hit, "The A Team." A storyteller, Ed wrote the song about a woman he met when he did a show at a homeless shelter.

Ed also wrote his song "Small Bump" about his friends who lost a baby.

"I wrote it from their perspective. It was my perspective looking on them to begin with. It’s quite a touchy subject, so I wrote it from the perspective of actually being the parent," said Sheeran.

These are just two of the countless examples of Ed's songwriting. He writes to express his feelings and frustrations, like in "Don't." He writes about the difficulties of having a relationship while being a touring musician like in "Nina." Ed writes about love and how he feels it.

Ed doesn't only write beautiful songs for himself to sing; he writes songs for other artists, including Tori Kelly, The Weeknd and Hillary Duff. Taylor Swift and Ed wrote a duet, "Everything Has Changed" together which they performed when they toured together in 2012. Close friends with One Direction, Ed wrote "Little Things," "18," "Over Again" and "Moments" for the band. The smash hit "Love Yourself" sung by Justin Bieber is another Sheeran original.

Furthermore, Ed advocates for songwriters. He started his own record label, Gingerbread Man Records, to help discover young songwriters like him. Jamie Lawson, who opened for Ed during his "X" tour, and Foy Vance have both been signed to his label.

To directly address Matt Harrington and Thomas Leonard, the parties suing Ed Sheeran, if you sincerely believe Ed is not a genuine songwriter, look at the evidence again. When the song "Amazing"came out, he was touring and writing, not following up on "The X Factor." I think you're looking for a quick dollar, but believe me, you've chosen the wrong case.

To directly address Ed, your fans are here for you. I am writing you this letter on behalf of all your fans. We want to defend you in any way we can. Don't let this ruin the year off you have earned. Anyone who has ever listened to Photograph knows its yours. We love you, and we are always on your side. Words can't express how proud we are.

If you still have doubts, just watch Ed perform this original.