I subscribe the 10/20/40/20/10 theory of human behavior, so I see the opportunist that he is where to go from there. To paraphrase, 10% of people are selfless, 20 prefer benevolence, 40 go with the flow, 20 prefer selfishness, and 10 are perfectly selfish. This is particularly relevant for public figures.

Give Sheeran money and he'll say whatever. Give or take away his money and he'll be cajoled one way or another. He'll basically never rise to any occasion because that is not who he is, and that's not who most public figures are. Because it is more often useful to appear benevolent, celebrities tend to appear selfless. There's nothing to it beyond that.

To phrase this another way, take away the stick and provide your own carrot to gain the totality of the central 40% in an instant. People like this fence-riding fuckstick. There's really nothing else to it.