Ever since Shawn Mendes has been in the public eye, so too has been speculation about his sexuality. A horrendous amount of conversation surrounding him being into guys has been at the forefront of every interview he’s ever done. In 2016, Shawn Mendes said “First of all, I’m not gay. Second of all, it shouldn’t make a difference if I was or if I wasn’t. The focus should be on the music and not my sexuality.” He is right, of course – why the hell should it matter? Despite high profile relationships with women, the conversation and viral tweets surrounding if he’s into guys or not has been prevalent for so many years. At a live show last night, Shawn Mendes spoke openly for over a minute regarding his sexuality and made some very brave points.
Speaking on stage, Shawn Mendes said “Since I was really young, there’s been this thing about my sexuality. People have been talking about it for so long. I think it’s kinda silly, because I think sexuality is such a beautifully complex thing and it’s so hard to just put into boxes. It always felt like such an intrusion on something very personal to me, something I was figuring out in my self, something I had yet to discover. And still have yet to discover.
“Writing this song felt really important to me because it felt like a moment where I could address it in a way that felt close to my heart. I guess I’m just speaking freely now because I want to be able to be closer to everyone and be in my truth. And the real truth about my life and my sexuality is that I’m just figuring it out like everyone else. I don’t really know sometimes, and I know other times. 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 be a human that feels things, and yeah. That’s all I really wanna say about that for now.”
Whether this statement is Shawn opening up that he’s coming to terms with a shift in his sexuality or not, I feel like as a gay man I relate to Mendes for being so brave here. As someone who was called gay for years before actually coming out, I remember a big thing about me being reluctant to admit it was I didn’t want to let those people who called me gay before I knew myself feel validated. It’s so complex.
Whatever Shawn wants to say or how he wants to identify and explore, I stand with him and commend him for being so vulnerable and brave on stage last night.
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