Ed Sheeran’s cousin launches scathing attack as singer says he feels his family has ‘abandoned’ him

Ed Sheeran’s cousin has branded him a ‘coward’ and ‘shady’ in a brutal statement, as the singer recently revealed on stage he felt his family had ‘abandoned’ him.

Sheeran’s Loop Tour has been marred by controversy after Macklemore was booted from the remaining dates due to pro-Palestine comments he made on stage.

The US rapper announced last week that he had been ousted from the tour after Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft issued an ‘ultimatum’ to Sheeran.

Sheeran later insisted that the decision to remove Macklemore had been down to the tour’s promoters and not him.

After Macklemore was ditched from the tour, all of Sheeran’s support acts, including Finneas, announced that they would be quitting, throwing things into chaos.

At the weekend, as Sheeran returned to the stage for the first time since the controversy erupted, his cousin Jethro Sheeran, 44, issued a scathing attack on social media.

Jethor Sheeran had some harsh words for his cousin (Facebook)

In a post on Facebook, he wrote: “Finally it’s all coming out! I’m ashamed of my cousin Ed and what he’s done.

“Finally the world and all his fans see through him. He’s not a good person, I don’t like his music so I can’t say he’s even a good artist.

“Ed Sheeran! He is shady and he’s dropped Macklemore himself I believe 100 per cent he’s a coward.

“In my opinion he’s a bad human. Just my opinion from my experiences.”

His cousin’s comments come as the singer claimed his family had ‘abandoned’ him amid the ongoing controversy.

During his first appearance on the Loop Tour since it was thrown into crisis, Sheeran became tearful as he addressed the situation on stage.

The 35-year-old admitted he’d made ‘mistakes’ and said he’d be thrown into the middle of an ‘important’ argument.

Speaking to the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, he said: “I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes and I’m so, so sorry for them.

“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.”

Sheeran then spoke about the toll the situation has taken on him, telling fans that he worried the tour may not continue and that he felt his loved ones had ‘abandoned’ him.

“I really didn't know whether this tour would be carrying on,” he continued.

“In these situations, you really find out who your friends are and it's been a weird week. I just feel like it happened very quickly.

“In the back of my mind, I saw the ticket sales for this gig and I didn't see cancellations, I saw people buying tickets for this gig.

“Everyone's telling me to cancel and I'm feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me.”

The Shape of You singer then went on to thank his fans for their support and for turning out to his show to see him.