The director who masterminded Ed Sheeran's now-infamous cameo in the first episode of Game of Thrones' seventh season has come to the pop singer's defence.
The episode, which aired on Monday night (local time), featured the 'Shape of You' hitmaker as a Lannister soldier - an appearance that caused widespread outrage from the fantasy TV show's fans.
They complained that his appearance was clunky and took them out of the Game of Thrones universe, ripping into the musician-turned-actor on Twitter, who in turn deactivated his account and told his fans to follow him on Instagram instead.
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But despite the uproar, Jeremy Podeswa, the man who directed the first episode of the new season and thought up Sheeran's cameo, has now voiced his shock at the criticism.
"I think Ed did a lovely job - he's a lovely actor and a lovely person. He was appropriate for the part because he needed to sing," he told Newsweek.
"If people didn't know who Ed was, they wouldn't have thought about it twice. The hoo-ha seems to be from things that are outside of the world of the show. In the world of the show he did a lovely job, and he looks like he belongs in that world."
Podeswa said Sheeran's feature shouldn't have riled people as much as it did, because despite him being well-known, all the show's stars are now famous yet are far from distracting.
The director said he doesn't feel bad about his decision to incorporate Sheeran into the show, and now just regrets the backlash that the 'Lego House' faced as a result.
"The only thing I don't feel great about is that Ed is such a lovely guy and really genuine and down to Earth," Podeswa said.
"He came into this with only lovely intentions to come and do a good job and sing well. So I think that's the only drag."
High-profile UFC fighter Conor McGregor is also believed to have a cameo at some point during the current season of Game of Thrones.
Newshub.
