Ed Sheeran has always been pretty boring to me — that is until I read his Rolling Stone interview this week.
The seemingly innocent British singer has had quite the career glow-up from boozy party boy to head-over-heels-in-love adult pop star. And he has the stories to prove it. But before we get into his hot gossip on waking up in bed with Taylor Swift's friends, we have to talk about one extremely off-putting quote said by Katy Perry. The 32-year-old singer has been quite unfiltered lately, dissing Britney Spears and providing uncomfortable red carpet moments, but this subtle insult may be her most damning comment yet.
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Somewhere in the middle of the long, but interesting, Sheeran cover story, there's a quote from Perry about Sheeran's love life. (He currently is in a committed relationship with his former high school friend and classmate, Cherry Seabourn — he's implied that the two plan on getting married and having kids in the near future.)
Perry, who recently ended her relationship with actor Orlando Bloom, told the publication why she thinks Sheeran has been such a successful ladies man: "Everybody loves him, no one's scared of him, they want to date him. They can have him." Let's break this down. Everybody loves him — that's sweet. No one's scared of him — a solid compliment. They want to date him — nice. They can have him — excuse me? "Have him?" To me, this reads as "While he's a catch, the girls know they are better than him so he's a safe bet," which is... so fucking rude.
If a male pop star said this about a female counterpart, there would be hell to pay. To diminish a person to the idea of being had and possessed is problematic, no matter who is saying it and whether they mean it as a insult or not. In the interview, Sheeran openly talks about his insecurities and how he struggled to deal with them (often times by getting drunk after a show), so this comment feels extremely insensitive coming from Perry, a "friend." Perry really needs to considering thinking before she talks.
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Beyond that, the rest of the interview is pretty fun. We pulled out the most shocking and interesting tidbits from the long profile, spelling them out for you below.
He used to hook up with Swift’s squad (and then regret it).
"I was this 22-year-old awkward British kid going on tour with the biggest artist in America, who has all these famous mates. It was very easy. … I would often find myself in situations just kind of waking up and looking over and being like, 'How the fuck did that happen?' "
He thinks Swift is the most famous woman in the world.
"She's omnipresent because she's the most famous woman in the world, so she can't make the decision to not be in the press. I always stick up for Taylor."
He drinks every single day.
"Often, I'm like, 'Is it bad that I drink almost every single day?' And then I look at my friends and most of them do the same. And they're actually worse than me. The first thing Americans say is, 'There's a problem, and you need to go to rehab.' But I don't wake up and drink. I don't depend on drink. I can go without it completely. I just enjoy going out and having fun, being 25. And I think that's a normal thing."
He has a gross signature drink (with white tequila).
"Five shots of that, and one shot of passion-fruit juice, please. Put the tequila on ice, and then let it sit for a bit. And then pour it over ice into the juice, then shake it." (The reporter confirms that he drinks more than one during their meal together.)
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He says Justin Bieber is "very sober."
"He's in a very good place – very sober, very present. There's been a 180 that's happened, and there's no diva behavior whatsoever. It really suits him."
He doesn't use a smartphone.
He had an iPad and a flip phone. He's also not big on social media.
He has movies in his future.
"I want to have one in my career," he said, referencing an appearance in a low-budget indie film, like Once.
He’s in the process of forming the next One Direction.
Of the potential group he describes the sound as: “Superpop, but obviously credible. I'm gonna put three or four boys together and do all the songs, take them on the stadium tour with me."
He doesn't want his "celebrity status" to become his reality.
"It's awesome meeting famous people. But that's not life. That's not reality. One day this will fucking end. And I know the one person that's going to remain constant is Cherry. I should just enjoy this while it's there, but not let it become my reality. Because that's not the reality I want to live in."
He and his super social girlfriend spend a lot of time together and even have a secret handshake.
"One of the main points of being in a relationship with me... you have to be really fucking sociable and good at talking to people, because I will be dragged away loads at parties and events. And Cherry's perfect at it. She makes friends with everyone."