At 22, Shawn Mendes has been singing for almost a decade, first through versions of other people's songs and later with his own, with which he has already released four albums.
Practically the same time that the artist has been forced to publicly justify his sexual orientation.
The Canadian now admits to having "suffered a lot" with speculation about his homosexuality, and not only because it is false news, but because of what this has led to many homosexuals, who have been withdrawn to express their sexuality.
"It was very frustrating because there were some people very close to me who were homosexuals, but they had not yet come out of the closet and I felt a real rage for them," the singer revealed on the
Armschair Expert podcast.
by Dax Shepard.
“It is something very complicated.
You mean, 'No, I'm not gay, but if I was, it would be fine, there's nothing wrong with being gay, but I'm not.'
You really don't know how to respond to this situation ”, he added.
The interpreter has reflected on the need for these types of qualifications to end, which, although insignificant, when used to define someone can be harmful.
“Everybody calls me gay since I was 15 years old.
I've always crossed my legs and sat in a so-called feminine position and I really suffered with that shit, ”he revealed in the interview.
Mendes has also regretted some of his attitudes when they have hinted that he is homosexual, and has emphasized that it takes mistakes to realize such things.
“I have come to realize that we have to stop having to be expert and politically correct about it, especially as a famous musician.
I need to really be a mess, say the wrong things and apologize, and say the right thing after apologizing and getting confused about how to respond when people say I'm gay.
When they told me I was gay, I would ask, 'What does that mean?'
I had some problems with the way my voice sounded ”, he explained about some attitudes that could have seemed aggressive or insulting on his part.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Shawn Mendes (@shawnmendes)
An example of these attitudes was when, in 2018, he assured the
Rolling Stones
magazine
that he felt the need to go out to be seen with a girl in public and show the world that he was not gay.
"I know perfectly well that if I were homosexual, nothing would happen because it is not bad, but there is still a small part of me that thinks so, and I hate myself for it," he added then.
The singer, who has just released his latest album,
Wonder
, knows that his fame and popularity offer him greater freedom to talk about this issue, but he is aware that there are many young people who have a hard time and that it is a subject that has caused the death of many people.
"I think a lot of guys go through this and even worse situations, there are so many guys who are gay and are in the closet and they must be hearing things like that and they just say: 'I'm terrified of facing what's out there," he explained. Dax Shepard.
In his conversation, the one who is one of the most promising young people on the music scene has also spoken about his current partner, Camila Cabello, whom he praised for his ability to push him to show himself as he truly is.
“She tells me: 'We're going to bed and you're going to put your head on my chest and you're going to cry.
You're going to tell me how you feel because if you don't, you'll be an idiot for the next week and I'm not going to deal with that shit, "he said with a humorous tone about the passionate character of the Cuban-American singer.
"I'm fortunate to have a relationship that is perfect," added the singer who, before Cabello, dated the model and current wife of Justin Bieber, Hailey Baldwin.
He was seen with her at the Met Gala in New York in May 2018, shortly before she gave Bieber a second chance.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Shawn Mendes (@shawnmendes)
Mendes, of a British mother and Portuguese father, accumulates in his brief musical record three Grammy nominations and great successes such as
Señorita
, the song that he performs precisely with Camila Cabello and that in 2019 became one of the best collaborations of the year.
In less than two months it broke all records with more than 436 million views on YouTube and was placed as the song did it faster to reach 900 million views on Spotify.
In addition to his music career, Mendes has become a celebrity in no time.
In 2018 he performed in the Victoria's Secret fashion show in New York and last year it was he himself who appeared on camera in his underwear.
The young man became in February the new signing of the clothing firm Calvin Klein, for whom he posed with his collection of intimate clothing.
An image that accumulated almost eight million
likes
on Instagram in less than 24 hours.
