On Wednesday (22Apr15), footage emerged showing the Thinking Out Loud hitmaker using words including "gay" as an insult in a rap to his opponent, British hip-hop star Devlin, in the filmed freestyle battle.

The clip, thought to be have been shot in 2011, has been removed from YouTube.com and Sheeran's spokesperson insists the singer was not insulting the gay community.

He tells Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, "Ed was sending up rappers who make homophobic remarks. He is clearly not homophobic."