Ed Sheeran Denies Attending J.K. Rowling’s NYE Party: ‘This Reporting is Divisive and Damaging’

Ed Sheeran has hit back at a report that claimed he attended a New Year’s Eve party at J.K. Rowling’s Scottish residence.

The “Shape Of You” singer took to his Instagram Stories last night (Jan. 21) to contest the original report by The Sun newspaper. The story claimed that Sheeran was rumoured to have attended the event at Killiechassie House in Perth and Kinross, Scotland alongside other celebrities such as actor Daniel Craig and musicians U2 and The Pretenders. None have commented publicly on the report.

The author of the Harry Potter series has faced significant criticism in recent years for her stance on trans rights. In December 2024, Rowling claimed on her X/Twitter profile that “no child is born in the wrong body” and that “there are no trans kids.” A number of the former cast members of the Harry Potter film series have distanced themselves from Rowling in recent years, including lead actors Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.

Writing on his Instagram Stories, Sheeran responded to a post by broadcaster India Willoughby: “Respectfully, India Willoughby, and any other journalist who has reported both these stories, neither are true. I spent New Years with my friends and family”.

He went on to dispute another story that claimed that Sheeran had ‘brought joy’ to wounded soldiers from the Israeli Defence Force at one of his concerts. “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 kind of reporting is divisive and damaging, please research before you post things.”

India Willoughby responded on X/Twitter writing: “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 [sic] of Jan via Twitter to ask if the story was correct – but no reply. Delighted to hear you didn’t go!”

The original report by The Sun has removed any mention of Sheeran, and Willoughby claims that the Daily Express have also withdrawn their report on the topic.

Sheeran recently scored his eighth No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart with the compilation album +–=÷× (Tour Collection). Earlier this month, pop superstar announced he was starting the Ed Sheeran Foundation to help support music education in schools.