ABC/Paula Lobo

Ed Sheeran has called out a U.K. journalist, claiming that an article she posted isn’t true and neither is the comment she added to the post.

On Tuesday Ed posted a now-deleted Instagram Story, captured by People.com, which was also posted to his official account on social platform X. He called out journalist India Willoughby for posting an article called “How Ed Sheeran brought joy to wounded IDF Soldiers – opinion.”

The article claimed that Ed’s concert in Cyprus last September was attended by wounded Israeli Defense Forces soldiers as part of a special initiative. Willoughby then added above that headline, “Ed Sheeran reportedly went to JK Rowling‘s New Year’s Eve party, too.”

Ed commented, “Respectfully, India Willoughby, and any other journalist who has reported both these stories, neither are true. I spent new year with my family and friends.”

He continued, “The story about wounded soldiers at my show, was a charity that sourced tickets to my show in Cyprus last year, which was a large scale public concert. This sort of reporting is devisive [sic] and damaging, please research before you post things.”

Why were these reports “divisive”? In recent years, Harry Potter author Rowling has become a controversial figure due to her comments about trans people, and the topic of the Middle East conflict is also controversial.

Willoughby responded on X, “Hi @edsheeran – this is great to hear. I used the word ‘reportedly’ about JK Rowling’s NYE party, because it was widely reported by UK and international media at the time. I also reached out directly to you in the first wk of Jan via Twitter to ask if the story was correct – but no reply. Delighted to hear you didn’t go!”