Oh no we saw him with her and them today.

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

Denying a claim about oneself is not hitting, back or forward or any direction.

This isn’t just random, you know, this constant resort to claims of “hitting out at” and “hitting back at” and “gouging out the eyeballs of” in reference to people saying things. It’s of a piece with the frenzied rhetoric about putting trans people at risk by not endorsing every word any trans person says. Nobody is punching anybody; we are disputing claims. The two are not the same.

The “Shape Of You” singer took to his Instagram Stories last night (Jan. 21) to contest the original report by The Sun newspaper.

There you go. To contest. Not to hit back at; to contest. Skip the pretend violence in future. Metaphors are dangerous in journalism, especially when the journalists are hacks.

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.

Yo. The story was of a rumor. Level 2 from the beginning, see? When the story is about a rumor in the first place, it’s silly to pretend it’s about a fact.

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”.

…

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!”

So India Willoughby is in charge of who goes where?

I did not know that.