Shawn Mendes opened up about his sexuality during his concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO last night (October 28).
The 26-year-old surprised the crowd by candidly addressing what has been an on-going topic of discussion amongst fans and the media, which was captured on video.
“There’s this thing about my sexuality, and people have been talking about it so long,” he said. “[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.”
Mendes then explained how difficult it is to be in his position where people talk a lot about what should be his private life.
“The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone," he added. "And 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 be a human and feel things. And that’s all I really want to say about that for now.”
Later in the set, Mendes revisited the subject in a new song from his forthcoming album, Shawn, titled "The Mountain."
“You can say I like girls or boys/ Whatever fits your mould,” he sang. “You can say I’m a fool/ You can say I’m a dreamer/ You can say I’m too far gonе/ But I feel never better’ So call it what you want.”
For years Mendes has avoided talking about his sexuality, amidst rumours he was gay, but in 2020 he told the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast, “It was so frustrating for me because there were some people in my life that I was very, very close to who were gay and in the closet. And I felt like this real anger for those people. I don’t know, 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,’" he added. "You don’t really know how to respond to the situation.”
“The real truth about my life and sexuality is that, man I’m just figuring it out like everyone. 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” pic.twitter.com/5AvgPePXzp
— Pop Base (@PopBase) October 29, 2024