Breaking Down Ed Sheeran's New Lion Tattoo

Growing up, my father always jokingly told me that I'd never be a detective because I had such a difficult time finding objects I had misplaced around the house, which were often in plain sight. Well, now it's time to prove the old man wrong. You see, as I was scrolling through Instagram, I noticed that Ed Sheeran posted a picture of his new lion tattoo. Now, normally I wouldn't give this a second thought. Typically my Instagram scrolling is mindless and I forget what photos I've already seen when I return to the app just minutes later. But Sheeran's tattoo picture didn't fall victim to my short-term memory loss for a couple very good reasons: It's prominent, right near his heart, and, um, it's of a lion. This spurred my long dormant super sleuth skills. There has been a lot of talk about lions, one in particular, lately, hasn't there?

Yes. As you're probably guessing, I immediately thought to myself, "Is that Cecil?!" It seemed too coincidental to not be. As it turns out, Metro had pondered the question as I had and the publication pointed out two very crucial pieces of evidence in favor of it being the fallen lion: Not only is it likely because Sheeran is an "animal lover," but also (and this is sort of huge) Cecil "was a rare breed of lion with a black mane, one that Ed’s tattoo also seems to sport." So, is the case closed? Can we assume it's Cecil the Lion and be done with it? Well, not quite.

There are a few pieces of evidence that skew the verdict in the opposite direction.

In A Tweet, Sheeran Referred To It Simply As "Lion"

Not as Cecil the Lion. This would have been a good a time as any to specify.

His Tattoo Artist Gave No Specifications On The Lion, Either

Come on, dude. Help us out.

Sheeran Has Never Tweeted About Cecil The Lion

That doesn't mean he doesn't care. Social Media is not everything. But, it may be a bit presumptuous to assume he'd tattoo a memorial to the animal on his chest without ever having spoken publicly about him before.

But Is The Timing Too Coincidental To Ignore?

It does seem just a little bit suspect that now, of all times, the musician would choose to get a prominent tattoo of lion. Feelings about Cecil's death are still very fresh and maybe Sheeran stayed quiet about his own feelings until now because he had a more profound memorial in mind.

So, is the argument that the tattoo depicts Cecil overruled? Is it just a simple, unsuspecting lion? It looks like we're going to have to wait to hear what Sheeran has to say for confirmation.

Images: Giphy (2)