Ed Sheeran’s accuser Kathryn Griffin Townsend collapses outside court on day two of copyright trial

The trial will continue tomorrow where the singer will once again take the stand. Photo / AP

Day two of Ed Sheeran’s copyright infringement trial took place today and things took an unexpected turn in the courtroom.

Sheeran is currently facing trial in New York on the claims that his hit song, Thinking Out Loud, is a direct rip off of the widely known 1973 Marvin Gaye song, Let’s Get It On.

People magazine reported the trial saw a commotion today when a professor of music at the University of Vermont took the stand to examine the two songs. When the musician’s lawyer went to cross-examine Dr Alexander Stewart Sheeran’s accuser, Kathryn Griffin Townsend, collapsed.

The US news outlet reported she slumped over in her seat and had to be walked out of the courtroom with the assistance of her family and lawyer before she fully collapsed outside and an ambulance was called. The trial’s judge, Judge Louis L. Stanton later announced to the court that Townsend had been taken to hospital.

Her lawyer has not yet released a statement regarding the heiress’s current health status or the cause of her collapse.

Kathryn Townsend Griffin, center, daughter of singer and songwriter Ed Townsend, speaks outside New York Federal Court before the start of a copyright infringement trial against singer Ed Sheeran, Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in New York. Standing with her is Queen Cora Coleman, left, and Kirk Williams. Photo / AP

Townsend is the daughter and only living direct heir of Ed Townsend – Gaye’s co-writer on the 1973 classic.

Today’s hearings saw Sheeran and his team argue that many pop songs are made up of similar notes and chord progressions after Stewart claimed the “musical value” of the two songs sits at 70 per cent.

Stewart will continue his testimony tomorrow which will be followed by another testimony from Sheeran himself.

It comes after Townsend’s team pulled out a “smoking gun” by entering Sheeran playing a mashup of the two songs at a 2014 concert. The star hit back by saying he would be an “idiot” to do that if he had copied the song.

“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 A Team singer said. “It is my belief that most pop songs are built on building blocks that have been freely available for hundreds of years.”

He added that he frequently performs mashups at his concerts of songs that are made up of similar chords including Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love” and “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi.

People magazine reported the star appeared frustrated during the trial when Townsend’s legal team did not let him explain a piece of evidence they had entered where he references plagiarism in his song, Take It Back.

“I feel like you don’t want me to answer because what I’m going to say is going to make quite a lot of sense,” Sheeran said.

The trial will resume tomorrow.