Shawn Mendes: It’s ‘hurtful’ to say I might be gay
Shawn Mendes has repeatedly spoken out about not being gay. (Paras Griffin/Getty)
Shawn Mendes has lashed out at people who speculate that he might be gay.
In an interview published on Sunday (April 7), the 20-year-old Canadian singer told The Guardian: “For me it’s hurtful.”
“I get mad when people assume things about me because I imagine the people who don’t have the support system I have and how that must affect them,” he added.
Mendes then spoke about an emotional Snapchat video he posted in 2016, in which he said: “First of all, I’m not gay. Second of all, it shouldn’t make a difference if I was or wasn’t.”
Shawn Mendes has urged people not to speculate about his sexuality. (Jeff Spicer/Getty)
The “In My Blood” singer explained: “That was why I was so angry, and you can see I still get riled up, because I don’t think people understand that when you come at me about something that’s stupid you hurt so many other people.
“They might not be speaking, but they’re listening.”
Shawn Mendes has opened up about how speculation he may be gay has affected him
Last year, Mendes told Rolling Stone that speculation over his sexuality was a “massive, massive thing” which had followed him “for the last five years.”
The singer said part of him wanted to avoid ever being seen as gay, explaining: “In the back of my heart, I feel like I need to go be seen with someone—like a girl—in public, to prove to people that I’m not gay.
“Even though in my heart I know that it’s not a bad thing. There’s still a piece of me that thinks that. And I hate that side of me.”
“I was like: ‘F**k, why did I let her post that?’ I just fed the fire that I’m terrified of.”
— Shawn Mendes
Mendes, who rose to popularity on now-defunct video site Vine, also revealed he has tried to not cross his legs since he saw an anonymous remark on one of his videos commenting on it.
He said he woke up in a cold sweat after allowing fellow music sensation Taylor Swift, who he was touring with, to post a video clip of her putting glittery eye make-up on him.
“I felt sick,” said Mendes. “I was like: ‘F**k, why did I let her post that?’ I just fed the fire that I’m terrified of.”
He recalled putting glitter around his eyes as a child, while he was growing up with 15 female cousins, and “braiding hair and painting nails.”
“Maybe I am a little more feminine,” he added, “but that’s the way it is. That’s why I am me.”
