Shawn Mendes is getting candid about his sexuality.
Mendes, 26, addressed the frequent rumors about his sexual orientation on Monday, October 28, as he performed his new album, Shawn, during an intimate concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado.
“The real truth about my life and my sexuality is, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone. I don’t really know sometimes and I know other times,” the “Stitches” singer said, per fan footage posted on social media. “It feels really scary because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that. I’m trying to be really brave and just allow myself to just be human and feel things. That’s all I wanna say about that for now.”
Mendes opened up about people speculating about his sexuality since he was “really young,” explaining, “I think it’s kind of silly because I think sexuality is a beautifully complex thing and it’s so hard to just put into boxes.”
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“It always felt like such an intrusion on something very personal to me. Something I was figuring out in myself. Something I had yet to discover and still have yet to discover,” he continued.
Mendes — who has previously dated Camila Cabello and Sabrina Carpenter — said he channeled the speculation about his love life into a new song, “The Mountain,” which he went on to perform.
@lewisiana Shawn finally addressing his sexuality! #shawnmendes #friendsandfamily #redrock
“Writing this song felt really important to me. It felt like a moment where I could address it in a way that felt close to my heart,” he said. “I’m just speaking freely now because I want to be closer to everyone and be in my truth.”
The song’s lyrics subtly address Mendes’ sexuality, with the crooner singing, “Some days, I have a change of heart / You can say what you need to say / You can say I’m too young / You can say I’m too old / You can say I like girls or boys / Whatever fits your mold.”
Mendes has previously spoken out about the stress of dealing with rumors about his sexuality.
“In the back of my heart, I feel like I need to go be seen with someone — like a girl — in public, to prove to people that I’m not gay,” he told Rolling Stone in 2018. “Even though in my heart I know that it’s not a bad thing. There’s still a piece of me that thinks that. And I hate that side of me.”
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The singer recalled watching his own interviews and analyzing his voice and body language because of the rumors, adding, “I thought, ‘You f—ing guys are so lucky I’m not actually gay and terrified of coming out.’ That’s something that kills people. That’s how sensitive it is. Do you like the songs? Do you like me? Who cares if I’m gay?”
Two years later, Mendes referred to the rumors as “frustrating.”
“There were some people in my life that I was very, very close to who were gay and in the closet. And I felt this real anger for those people,” he said during an episode of the “Armchair Expert” podcast in December 2020. “It’s such a tricky thing. You want to say, ‘I’m not gay but it’d be fine if I was gay — but also there’s nothing wrong with being gay but I’m not.’ You don’t really know how to respond to the situation.”
