Shawn Mendes has been happily loved up with Camila Cabello for a while now. The adorable couple is one of music’s hottest pairings, and we all can’t get enough of their sweet displays of affection.
But before he went public with Camila, Shawn was hounded by speculations about his sexuality. Prior to having a girlfriend, whispers about his sexual orientation were making the rounds for years.
Now, the 22-year-old musician is finally addressing all the rumors and speculations.
Speaking to Dax Shepard on the latter’s podcast, Shawn finally broke his silence about all the rumors that have been hounding him ever since he broke out into the spotlight.
He opened up about how he felt about all those rumors:
“It was so, 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.”
More than just frustration, Shawn revealed that he also felt real anger:
“And I felt like this real anger for those people. 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.’
You don’t really know how to respond to the situation.”
He went on to share his realizations all throughout the sexuality speculations, and expressed understanding and empathy on why certain assumptions were made and are being made, not just about him but about men in general:
“I’ve realized that we just have to stop having to be experts and politicians about it, especially as a famous musician who’s a guy. I need to be really f—ick messy and say the wrong things and apologize and say the right thing after I apologize and be confused about how to respond when people say I’m gay.
Everyone’s been calling me gay since I was 15 years old. I’m not gay and I’m like, ‘What does that mean?’
I had problems with the way my voice sounded. I’m like, ‘How do I sit?’ I’m always the first to cross my legs and sit with a position of this feminine style and I really suffered with that s—.”
Shawn spoke about how speculations on sexuality can make it even harder for people:
“I think a lot of guys go through that and even worse than that there are just so many guys who are gay and in the closet and must be hearing s—- like that and just being like, ‘I’m terrified to come out.”
And he concluded by stating:
“I didn’t grow up wrestling. I grew up getting my hair braided on New Year’s Eve.
It just completely depends on the way you grew up in your life and your surroundings.”
Kudos Shawn for your understanding and empathy!
