Shawn Mendes had a heart-to-heart moment with fans as he peeled back the curtain on his self-discovery and sexuality during a concert in Colorado.
The 26-year-old singer spoke candidly while performing at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Monday, October 28, as part of his For Friends and Family Tour.
Before performing his upcoming song, The Mountain, the Canadian artist touched upon the constant speculation around his personal life.
He also spoke freely about his evolving sense of self while explaining the lyrics of the song.
Shawn Mendes had a heart-to-heart moment with fans during a concert in Colorado as part of his For Friends and Family Tour
“Since I was really young, there’s been this thing about my sexuality, and people have been talking about it for so long,” he told the crowd in a viral clip shared online.
“I think 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,” the singer continued.
“It always felt like such an intrusion on something very personal to me, something that I was figuring out in myself, something that I had yet to discover, and still have yet to discover,” he added.
The Mercy singer said he’s “just speaking freely now” so he can be “closer” to everyone and “just kind of be in my truth.”
While talking about the song The Mountain, he said he believes sexuality is “such a beautifully complex thing”
“The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone,” he went on to say. “I don’t really know sometimes, and I know other times. 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,” the Grammy nominee added.
His upcoming album, titled Shawn, is slated to be released on November 15 and will feature the song The Mountain. The lyrics of the song touch upon sexuality as well.
“The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone,” the Canadian artist said
@shecutex3 proud of @Shawn Mendes for speaking up for himself. let the man live and figure his life out.🫶🏻 #shawnmendes #redrocks #themountain #shawn #ffafo #forfamilyandfriends #colorado ♬ original sound – sof✨
“Some days, I have a change of heart / You can say what you need to say,” he sings in The Mountain.
“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,” the lyrics continue.
The pop heartthrob previously dated singer Camila Cabello on and off for years. He has also been linked with Sabrina Carpenter in the past.
The Grammy nominee has previously spoken about feeling pressured to “prove” that he’s “not gay”
Over the years, he has admitted feeling pressured because of the constant speculation about his sexuality.
“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,” he told Rolling Stone in 2018. “Even though in my heart I know that it’s not a bad thing.”
The following year, he told The Guardian that rumors about his sexuality can be “hurtful.”
“For me it’s hurtful,” he told the outlet. “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.”
“Just be you, Shawn,” one fan said, while another wrote, “Leave the poor guy alone”
