Shawn Mendes Accidentally Likes Transphobic Tweet, Apologizes

Just days before the Grammy Awards, nominated singer Shawn Mendes apologized to fans for accidentally liking a hateful, transphobic tweet.

On Monday, a fan called out the 20-year-old for liking the tweet. Mendes apologized for it moments later.

“Must of accidentally liked it scrolling down a feed, you know me, [and] I’d never. Sorry,” the “In My Blood” singer wrote, adding a followup tweet that just read “love u.”

Although Mendes un-liked the tweet, a Twitter user took a screenshot. It was a message shared by Blair Cottrell, the leader of a far-right Australian group had has been described as a hate group.

Mendes has been publicly supportive of LGBTQ causes in the past and is friends with singer/songwriter Teddy Geiger, who came out as a transgender woman in October 2017. Geiger also co-wrote “In My Blood” with Mendes, Scott Harris and Geoffrey Warburton, sharing the Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.

In a 2018 interview with Billboard, Mendes shared his support for Geiger and offered advice to straight men who want to show support for the LGBTQ community.

“Just open your eyes and open your mind, because, for me, going through one of my closest friends going through a very big transition period in her life, was incredible to watch,” Mendes said at the time.

He continued, “There was a moment when I remember I referred to Teddy as she, like without thinking, and it takes time to be able to learn that, obviously. And the way she looked at me was this intense amount of joy that I swear if everybody in the world experienced one of their best friends experiencing that, there would be no questions. People would not be questioning it. It’s just not worth it to question it. Let somebody be and feel and live how they want to live.”

Fans defending Mendes on Twitter pointed out his long track record of supporting the LGBTQ community and his friendship with Geiger.

In addition to Song of the Year, Mendes was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album for his self-titled third album. The other nominees in the category are Kelly Clarkson’s Meaning of Life, Camilla Cabello’s Camila, Ariana Grande’s Sweetener, Pink’s Beautiful Trauma and Taylor Swift’s Reputation.

The other Song of the Year nominees are Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s “All The Stars”; Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up”; Drake’s “God’s Plan”; “The Joke” by Brandi Carlile; “The Middle” by Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey; “Shallow” by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper; and Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.”

Photo credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy