Ed Sheeran has spoken about his divisive cameo during Game Of Thrones‘ seventh season, saying he “didn’t expect there to be that much backlash”.

Sheeran played a Lannister soldier that crossed paths with Maisie Williams’ Ayra Stark during the season premiere ‘Dragonstone’. While other musicians like Coldplay, Bastille, Of Monsters And Men and Sigur Rós also cameoed in the show, Sheeran’s was more overt with the pop star even singing ‘Hands Of Gold’ and introducing it as “a new one”.

Speaking about the cameo this morning (November 1) on Absolute Radio, Sheeran said: “I feel like I pissed off 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?’”

“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.”

Shortly after the episode aired, Sheeran deleted his Twitter account but claimed it had nothing to do with criticism.

While Sheeran’s character Eddie didn’t appear onscreen again, his fate was discussed during season eight. Apparently he was present at Battle of the Goldroad and while he survived this encounter with Daenerys Targaryen, his face was burned by her dragon Drogon, leaving him without eyelids.

Sheeran released his fourth album ‘Equals’ last week (October 29) but slept through the launch, thanks to a “pretty gnarly” bout of coronavirus.

In a three-star review of the record, NME said: “So, ‘=’ adds up to another album on which Sheeran comes off like a millennial Lionel Richie – namely, a very gifted singer-songwriter who’s sometimes sunk by his saccharine streak.

“When Sheeran gets a Glastonbury legends slot in 25 or 30 years’ time, he’ll probably nail it as Richie did in 2015 with a joyous procession of gold-plated hits. But for now, his persistent bad habits make this album a little less enjoyable than it could be.”