'Really Brave' Shawn Mendes 'Still Figuring It Out' When It Comes to His Sexuality

Shawn Mendes has denied persistent gay rumors, but in heartfelt comments during a Oct. 28 concert he opened up to the audience, saying that he's "still figuring it out," UK newspaper the Daily Mail reported.

Introducing his new song "The Mountain," Mendes, 26, said, "Since I was really young, there's been this thing about my sexuality, and people have been talking about it for so long," People Magazine relayed, referencing a TikTok video of the moment.

"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 Canadian singer added.

Mendes added that the speculation has "'always felt like such an intrusion on something very personal to me," before saying that "it feels really scary because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that."

Leaning into the subject and saying he was "trying to be really brave," the singer added, "The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I'm just figuring it out like everyone."

The lyrics to "The Mountain" reflect that personal process, People Magazine noted, quoting the words: "Some days, 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."

Writing "The Mountain," he said, "felt really important to me because it felt like a moment where I could address it in a way that felt close to my heart."

Gay Twitter shared thoughts about the video of his comments, with some urging him to come out and others applauding his honesty as he works things out for himself.

Mendes has addressed the ongoing speculation around his sexuality before; the Mail recalled him telling Rolling Stone six years ago that the closet is "something that kills people. That's how sensitive it is."

But, he added, "Do you like the songs? Do you like me? Who cares if I'm gay?"

Still, he said at the time, he felt compelled to prove his straightness to the world.

"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," Mendes told Rolling Stone. "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."

The glare of public scrutiny is something he's had to deal with since a young age – maybe too young.

"Everyone's been calling me gay since I was 15 years old," the Mail recalled Mendes saying on an appearance on Dax Shepard's podcast. "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 shit."

"He also flatly denied that he was gay in a Snapchat message to his fans in 2016, while urging them to concentrate on his work," the Mail noted, quoting Mendes telling his fans, "First of all, I'm not gay. Second of all, it shouldn't make a difference if I was or if I wasn't. The focus should be on the music and not my sexuality."

Wherever Mendes is in his process, and wherever he ends up, fans have made such speculation an ongoing source of social media posting. When he showed off photos on his phone in a short video clip for Interview Magazine – with snaps that included Brad Pitt in a jacket Mendes said he liked, the hands of American rock climber Alex Honnold ("You've never seen fingers that thick in your life, for sure," Mendes exclaimed), and an anteater that, the singer said, reminded him of a male friend – Gay Twitter went berserk and the chatter instantly amped up once more.

The fact he was wearing a skintight T-shirt that rode up his stomach and bore the legend "I Feel Love" when he made the video clip added more fuel to the fire.