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Topics: Celebs, Entertainment, Music, Shawn Mendes
Ilana Frost
People speculating about Shawn Mendes’ sexuality and calling him closeted is a tale as old as his 2015 hit single, “Stitches,” unfortunately. Despite the Canadian singer admitting to writing all of his songs about his ex-girlfriend, Camila Cabello, some chronically online fans have always been convinced that she’s just his beard, a person hired/chosen to date someone to help hide their sexuality. Now, I wouldn’t call myself a Shawn stan (him saying “human” every other word is a bit much for me), but, like, can we let the dude live? In 2024, it is puzzling to me that people still feel the need to obsess over someone’s identity and labels — looking at you, Gaylors and Larrys —, especially if they haven’t spoken about it publicly. Shawn has previously denied rumors that he’s gay, but during his October 28 concert in Colorado, he opened up about how the rumors make him feel and shared new details about his sexuality.
At the show, Shawn took a few minutes to discuss his sexuality and all the rumors about it. “Since I was really young, there’s been this thing about my sexuality, and people have been talking about it for so long,” he said to the crowd. “I think it’s kind of silly, because I think sexuality is such a beautifully complex thing, and it’s so hard to just put into boxes.” Shawn added that the constant speculation has been “an intrusion on something very personal to me, something that I was figuring out in myself, something that I had yet to discover, and still have yet to discover.”
“The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone,” he reflected. “I don’t really know sometimes, and I know other times. And it feels really scary because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that.” Shawn emphasized that he’s trying to be “brave” and “allow myself to be a human and feel things.” He noted that that’s all he feels comfortable sharing for now. Although Shawn didn’t explicitly “come out” in this speech, it’s the first time he’s indicated that he may not be straight and is exploring.
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Shawn’s fifth studio album, Shawn, doesn’t come out until November 15, but he’s been performing some of the unreleased tracks at recent shows. In one new song, “The Mountain,” he references the sexuality rumors in the lyrics. “Some days, I have a change of heart / You can say what you need to say,” he sings. “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.” It seems like he’s accepted that there will always be rumors and criticism, but he doesn’t let it get to him as much anymore. I hope everyone can leave this man alone now.