A woman who is currently suing Ed Sheeran for plagiarism had to be carried out of court after suddenly collapsing.
The 32-year-old singer-songwriter was present in a Manhattan court to contest the allegations that he copied Marvin Gaye’s 1973 song 'Let’s Get It On' in his 2014 hit 'Thinking Out Loud'.
Kathyrn Griffin Townsend - the daughter of songwriter Ed Townsend who co-wrote Gaye's classic soul hit - first sued Sheeran in 2017. She is the writer's only living direct heir and is the plaintiff leading the civil trial.
Things took a sudden turn yesterday (April 26) when she fell down during proceedings on the second day of the copyright infringement trial in New York City.
According to CNN, when the 'Shape of You' musician's lawyers began cross-examination of a music expert, Griffin fell ill and slumped on the floor.
She was then reportedly lifted up by other individuals and had to be given medical assistance before being removed from the room on a stretcher.
The incident is reported to have caused a delay of seven minutes, with proceedings continuing after she was taken from court.
Griffin's lawyer later revealed that she suffers from a "pre-existing medical condition that she’s dealing with," per Metro.
Sheeran's song dominated the charts when it was released - peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. But just two years later, the late songwriter's heirs claimed that the song copied the "heart" of Gaye’s hit song, such as the melody, rhythm, and harmony.
According to The Independent, the plaintiff's attorney, Ben Crump, showed a video from one of the British singer's past live performances in which he "mashes up" his track with 'Let’s Get it On'.
The lawyer described the clip - which can be watched on YouTube - as a "smoking gun" and claimed that the two songs transitioned from one to the other "seamlessly," per Metro.
During Tuesday's (April 25) court session, Sheeran contended that many pop songs share similar chord progressions, and said that his choice to do a mash-up of both songs was not the "smoking gun" that Crump argued that it was.
"If I'd done what you're accusing me of doing, I'd be an idiot to stand on stage in front of 20,000 people and do that," the musician said, as reported by People. "It is my belief that most pop songs are built on building blocks that have been freely available for hundreds of years."
To prove his point, the Grammy-winning vocalist shared that he often infuses songs with similar chords at his concerts. He also pointed out several songs that convey the same progressions such as Van Morrison's 1970 'Crazy Love' and Lewis Capaldi's 2019 'Someone You Loved'.
Furthermore, Sheeran’s lawyer Ilene S Farkas argued that the concert clip does not confirm copyright infringement took place and instead emphasizes that the hitmaker often performs mash-ups during his shows.
The trial is expected to last for up to two weeks.
