Ed Sheeran’s Life Force Drained by “Hatred”-Filled U.S. Award Shows

Ed Sheeran dressed up for Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards and delivered a perfectly fine performance, but he evidently did not have a good time.

“The room is filled with resentment and hatred towards everyone else, and it’s quite an uncomfortable atmosphere,” the British singer said afterward on an Audacy audio show, revealing that he’s felt this way since 2013.

“All the artists are sweet people, but they’re surrounded by entourages that want them to win too, so it’s one artist surrounded by ten people and another artist surrounded by ten people and everyone is kind of giving each other the side eye,” Sheeran continued.

According to the ginger songster, this isn’t just unique to the VMAs, but applies to all American award shows, including the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music Awards, and the Grammys, as well as afterparties that are overpopulated with entourages and influencers. He juxtaposed the depressing ambience in the U.S. with the more relaxed vibe in laid-back England, where “our award shows are just, like, everyone gets drunk, and no one really cares who wins or loses, it’s just sort of a good night out.”

Apparently the blue-eyed crooner isn’t the only person to feel this way; he said he has spoken with others who feel similarly depressed after American award shows. “It’s a really, really horrible atmosphere to be in there,” Sheeran emphasized once more. “I always walk away feeling sad, and I don’t like it.”

Resentment, hatred, jealousy? Sorry, Teddy, that’s just the American way. Parties make you feel bad here. But I do feel for him; no one likes being obliged to attend an event that sucks. Perhaps we could use some bad vibes exorcism to fix the “shape of” these award shows and the “bad habits” of their American attendees, before Sheeran decides, fuck it, “take me back to London.” In the meantime, he just might have to teach these toxic, high-strung Americans the importance of being “=.”