Shawn Mendes has spoken out about the social media jibes at his expense which suggest that he’s gay.
Since his rise to fame in the last few years, there have been plenty of jokes and memes about Shawn, which have suggested that he’s secretly gay, and hiding his sexuality.
Despite having clarified that he identifies as straight, Shawn notes in a new interview with Rolling Stone that the jokes have gone on, and that they have taken their toll on him, even though he acknowledges that his sexuality shouldn’t matter.
“I’d like to say I don’t care about it, but that’s not true”, he told the magazine on the subject of the “massive, massive thing for the last five years about me being gay”.
He said: “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.”
Shawn also revealed he felt compelled to speak out to insist that he wasn’t gay in 2016, when he considered how damaging jokes about his sexuality could be if that were something he were struggling with.
“I thought, ‘you fucking guys are so lucky I’m not actually gay and terrified of coming out,’ ” he continued. “That’s something that kills people. That’s how sensitive it is.
“Do you like the songs? Do you like me? Who cares if I’m gay?”
The Rolling Stone piece acknowledges that Shawn has since found himself “watching his own interviews, analysing his voice and his body language”, though the star eventually concluded: “Maybe I am a little more feminine — but that’s the way it is. That’s why I am me.”
In the past, Shawn has been romantically linked with Hailey Baldwin, with whom he attended the Met Gala earlier this year, though she is now believed to be married to Justin Bieber, after announcing their engagement in July.
Earlier this year, Shawn Mendes released his self-titled third album, which reached number three in the UK.
The release was trailed by singles ‘In My Blood’ and ‘Lost In Japan’, the latter of which sees him paying homage to the film ‘Lost In Translation’ in the music video.
Read Shawn’s full interview on Rolling Stone.