"Game of Thrones" fired up the internet when they featured Ed Sheeran in the premiere episode of the seventh season aired last Sunday. The "Galway Girl" crooner shared a scene with Arya Stark, played by Maisie Williams, where he delivered a few lines and sang a campfire song, titled "Hands of Gold," which was taken from George R. R. Martin's "Ice and Fire" series.
'Castle on the Hill' artist in 'Game of Thrones'
David Benioff and Dan Weiss have previously said that they invited Ed Sheeran on the show to surprise Williams, who is a huge fan of the British artist.
The creators even tried to keep it a secret until Sophie Turner spilled the beans to her co-actress.
"[Creators] David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] had it as, like, a surprise for her," Turner told ET Online. "So they just, they didn't tell her. I told her by accident! I was like, "Oh, when's Ed Sheeran coming on the show?" But yeah, they kind of did it as a surprise."
Turner went on to express that it was fun to see Williams with the pop singer and hoped that "Game of Thrones" will heed her request to have Justin Bieber on the show. "I was kind of mad because I've been talking about [Justin] Bieber coming on the show for a while now. But it's fine, I'm over it," she jokingly added.
The 21-year-old actress was surprised to hear that Ed Sheeran's participation in the opening episode drew the backlash from fan critics.
Turner, however, has nothing but good words about the singer's performance in the HBO series. "I thought he killed it. Ed Sheeran is a hero! No one slays Ed Sheeran! That's rude," she responded to critics.
Ed Sheeran explains absence on Twitter
The Brit singer, on the other hand, clarified that his sudden departure from Twitter has nothing to do with his "Game of Thrones" appearance.
Followers of the "Shape of You" artist noticed that his Twitter account was deactivated in the wake of backlash for his small screen debut.
"I came off Twitter 'cause I was always intending to come off Twitter, had nothing to do with what people said about my "Game of Thrones" cameo," he wrote. "Why the hell would I worry what people thought about that?"
Ed Sheeran added that he could not care less of what his detractors are claiming so long as he enjoyed the "awesome" experience of appearing on the popular show.
A few days after taking a break from the Twitter world, the singer reactivated his account but has yet to post an update ever since he addressed his critics over his live performances.
Never thought I'd have to explain it, but everything I do in my live show is live, it's a loop station, not a backing track. Please google x
— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) June 26, 2017
It should also be noted that the "Wake Me Up" singer had previously expressed his desire to quit Twitter after he was attacked by Lady Gaga's fans for his Super Bowl comments earlier this year.
