Ed Sheeran Reveals Being Singled Out Over Game of Thrones Cameo Was Quite Jarring

Remember when Ed Sheeran popped up in the Game of Thrones Season 7 premiere and the internet promptly lost its mind? He still gets asked about it, and yes, he still has thoughts.

Sheeran revisits the infamous cameo

On Benny Blanco's new podcast Friends Keep Secrets, Sheeran looked back at the quick guest spot that drew an outsized amount of heat back in 2017, when both he and the show were at peak saturation. He gets why people noticed it so much — he was everywhere at the time — but he does not sound even a little bit regretful.

"I feel like I definitely ruffled some feathers being on Game of Thrones."

"People love that show. If anyone gets asked to be in that show, it's an instant yes... I said yes. I enjoyed doing it."

Why he thinks the backlash stuck to him

Sheeran was blunt about why he became the lightning rod when other music-world cameos barely registered: his ubiquity. In his words, it was less about the scene and more about timing.

"I think at the time I was very omnipresent and just everywhere. So, I think it was quite jarring."

He also shrugged that getting piled on now and then kind of comes with the territory for him.

He was not the only musician in Westeros

This is the part that always gets forgotten. Plenty of artists passed through Thrones without causing meltdowns. Sheeran even rattled off a few:

• Members of Coldplay showed up around the Red Wedding
• Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol had a cameo
• Chris Stapleton appeared as a White Walker

So no, the show did not grind to a halt just to spotlight Sheeran. He sang a song by a campfire. People saw Ed Sheeran and not a Lannister soldier, and that was that.

Meanwhile, the Thrones machine rolls on

In case you have not checked back in on Westeros lately: the universe is alive and well with ongoing spin-offs, including House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.