Ed Sheeran says backlash to Game of Thrones cameo ‘muddied my joy’

While promoting his new album = (Equals), Sheeran admitted that viral reactions to his season 7 appearance made him “more careful” about agreeing to film and TV appearances.

“I feel like I pissed a lot of people by being in that, but anytime I meet someone that is like, ‘Oh, you cameoed on that show,’ I’m like, ‘What would you say?’” the Grammy-winner said during an appearance on the British radio station Absolute Radio.

“Everyone would say yes. I was a fan of the show. They asked me to be in it. I didn’t expect there to be that much backlash but I am definitely more careful when I am offered cameos now.”

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Sheeran has played himself in other projects over the years, such as the 2019 musical comedy Yesterday and 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby.

He further explained on a recent episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast that Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss asked him to appear on the iconic HBO fantasy series as a surprise for his friend, UK actress Maisie Williams (who played Arya Stark).

He also let slip that the penultimate season was initially supposed to be Williams’ last, suggesting writers intended to kill her off. Obviously that didn’t eventuate and Arya was the hero of the eighth and final season after killing the Night King.

Ultimately, his surprise cameo was accidentally spoiled by fellow Thrones star Sophie Turner who spilt the beans to Williams beforehand.

“[Maisie has] always been awesome,” Sheeran added. “I don’t think they had written the ending yet. It was meant to be her last season but it wasn’t. And as a surprise for her, [they got] me on. So, she was meant to turn up on set, and I was by the fire.”

The Bad Habits singer played a Lannister soldier in the Season 7 premiere episode, titled ‘Dragonstone’.

He performed the song Hands of Gold and shared a brief exchange with Williams’ character, but at the time, many fans were irked by how unsubtle (and arguably distracting) his cameo was.

“[Filming the scene] was great,” Sheeran said on Armchair Expert. “I feel like people’s reactions to it sort of muddied my joy to it.”

This article originally appeared on Decider and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Ed Sheeran says backlash to Game of Thrones cameo ‘muddied my joy’