Shawn Mendes Addresses Longtime Rumors About His Sexuality: 'You Can Say I Like Boys or Girls'

Shawn Mendes is clearing the air when it comes to his sexuality.

During a recent performance in New York City, Mendes debuted a new song called "The Mountain" from his forthcoming album Shawn. A fan shared a clip of the performance on TikTok and Mendes seemingly addressed the longtime rumors regarding his sexuality in the song's lyrics.

"I have a change of heart / you can say what you need to say / 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," he can be heard singing in the clips.

Mendes has not commented about the song or any of the other rumors surrounding his sexuality since the clip dropped. However, it is not the first time that he has addressed rumors around his sexual preference.

Speaking with Dax Shepard for his s Armchair Expert podcast in 2020, Mendes explained why this topic is "so frustrating."

"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. And I felt this real anger for those people," he said.

Mendes also noted that it can be tricky when it comes to speaking about the rumors.

"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 shared.

"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 these problems with the way my voice sounded. I'm like, 'How do I sit?' I'm always first to cross my legs and sit with a position of this feminine style and I really suffered with that s--t," Mendes explained.

All in all, Mendes understands things are complicated and that any response he gives about the rumors won't be perfect.

"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--king 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," he said.

Mendes dated Camila Cabello from July 2019 to November 2021 and Sabrina Carpenter for a few months in 2023. Carpenter's hit "Taste" is rumored to be about Cabello and Mendes.

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Shawn Mendes