Ed Sheeran is taking some heat this week after referencing stereotypes while talking about how he once questioned his sexuality.
“I have a definite feminine side to the point where, when I was a kid, I thought I was gay for a bit,” the singer said during an appearance on the Man Man Man podcast. “I definitely had a big feminine side. I love musical theatre, I love pop music, I love Britney Spears.
“My masculine side probably stops at drinking beer and watching football. I am not a hugely masculine person anyway. I am not a car guy. I like a nice car, but I’m not a car guy.”
On social media, people were quick to clap back.
“Being a #gay male has nothing to do with one's degree of femininity or masculinity it's just about same-sex attraction,” tweeted author Phillip Crawford Jr. “Stereotype, much, #EdSheeran?”
One tweet read: “Ed Sheeran just stepped on a new low by pushing further gay stereotypes such as the lie that a male listening to pop music or Britney Spears means he's gay. Why do straight celebrities feel the need to profit off such delicate topics just to end up saying they're just hetero?”
Another person tweeted that Sheeran was “trying to be seen as relatable by using harmful stereotypes as examples.”
I love musical theater, pop music, Britney Spears and #EdSheeran's latest "Bad Habits." I'm also a gay man with zero feminine side. Stop believing myths. Some of the butchest men are gay while some of the most feminine are straight (I know this because they fool me so often.) pic.twitter.com/5G9iGNR3hR
— Scott Smith (@scottinclearh2o) November 2, 2021
can’t stop thinking about the fact that ed sheeran thought he might be gay because he liked pop music pic.twitter.com/mpr1fWhK6W
— will (@willjhrt) November 1, 2021
Others are defending Sheeran, pointing out that when he was young, “people genuinely thought these things were signs of being gay.”
One person tweeted: “People dissing Ed Sheeran for sharing an anecdote about how he once thought he was gay for not following certain gender norms is so stupid. Yes he's wrong but society sucks and most of us didn't grow up in woke households either.”
Ed sheeran saying he questioned his sexuality because he liked perceived effeminate things isn't homophobia / prejudice etc
— James Hinchliffe (@TGingerlad) November 1, 2021
20+ years ago the fact you were a guy and didn't like football was enough for people to assume you were gay
Times were different then
y’all just hate Ed Sheeran for no reason I swear; yeah gay people like pop girls but it’s a massive stereotype; he said nothing wrong. In fact he actually said he loves Britney Spears so like let’s celebrate that?? Instead of tearing someone down? That’s not what Britney would do
— conor ✌✨ (@conorswift13) November 1, 2021