It’s a fair argument, but it begs the question whether a female artist like Beyoncé could choose to dress like Sheeran, comfortable and unremarkable, and have the kind of career that they both have.

“But you kind of have to wonder whether, if Beyoncé had started out with Ed Sheeran’s style, she’d have made it anywhere or just been dismissed,” one Twitter user wrote. “There’s a lot of evidence that women get judged far more harshly on their appearance.”

But as others pointed out, maybe we should shift the focus back to the purpose of the festival in the first place: honouring the legacy of South African president Nelson Mandela and raising funds to continue his work in the fields of education, sanitation and health.

This year, Global Citizen has raised in excess of £5.712 billion (USD$7.26 billion) to achieve these goals. Now, that’s something worth talking about.

Viral photo of Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran sums up different standards for men and women