Shawn Mendes is ready to open up about his sexuality amid years long rumors and speculation. The 26-year-old singer recently addressed questions surrounding his sexual orientation on stage during a performance to promote his new album, Shawn, 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 “Mercy” singer said in fan footage captured that’s currently circulating 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.”
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He said the questions have been there since he was “really young,” adding it’s made things even more complicated, saying, “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. 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.”
Mendes previously dated Camila Cabello, and there were also rumors he dated Sabrina Carpenter. He and Cabello, who collaborated on the single “Senorita,” split in 2021. They announced their split on Instagram and vowed to remain close friends. While appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Cabello admitted she’d be open to reconciling with Mendes, telling the host, “I opted for that route. It is what it is. It was a great route, it was a fun time. It was a fun moment.”
Mendes addresses his sexuality in a new song, “The Mountain,” which he performed in Colorado. “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 told the audience. “I’m just speaking freely now because I want to be closer to everyone and be in my truth.”
In the song, he sings, “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.”
