Shawn Mendes opens up about how rumors about his sexuality affected him

[Eggs 2,690]

1 minute ago, xoxo Craig said:

That's not it. Its the fact people are putting him in a box and TELLING him what he is based off his actions... imagine someone telling you you're something not, and you know you're not, everyday for the next 7 years? 

Its not the he thinks he's gay, or ever thought he was gay... its people telling him what he is without even knowing him or how he's feeling. 

I didn't say that he thinks he's gay. I said that other people thinking he's gay when he's not shouldn't be as big a deal to him as it is, and the fact that he is upset by it is likely rooted in homophobia.

[ShayCristoforo 10,596]

I was expecting him to be like "it hurts me because I'm not gay"

But his answer was very courteous. Nice one 

[Damon 10,897]

I don't want to be rude but he should just ignore the trolls, they are always there and he did many interviews like this and they just keep on feeding the trolls. It's not even a big deal lol

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, Autumn said:

i understand his pain and sympathise with him but i think it's disproportionately affecting him. all celebrities go through sexuality speculation, and many male celebrites are targeted with the same level of speculation (most notably people i find like tom holland and harry styles), but he's let it get to him in a way that i think is unhealthy.

This is how a lot of people let it get to them when they are not actually gay.

I was accused of being gay earlier on in my high school life. It caused me to resent the gay community in particular because they were the ones who were actually accusing me and would not take my responses for value (this happens in every Shawn Mendes thread on here too - the gays love to judge someone's sexuality). I had some straight guys occasionally tease me, but in those days they did that to everybody so I didn't really think anything of it.

I didn't view it as bullying, but I did view it as something that I could avoid and was based on actions or mannerisms I would do. 

I also went through policing my actions. "What if this makes me seem gay?" "What if that makes me seem gay?" etc. I used to be a lot more expressive. I used to speak in ways where I was clearly enthusiastic. Now I am pretty stoic, I speak mostly monotone, and it's hard to tell when I am enthusiastic. I am not as expressive through my emotions as I once was either. All in an effort to suppress whatever I was doing that made people think I was gay.

It is not a good head space to be in. As I've said in the past, I am bisexual - in fact, I like men generally more than women, but the fact that part of my identity was being disregarded and labeled as something else was what bothered me the most.  

The headspace isn't even one where "gay is bad and I don't want to make people think that." It was literally a case of someone removing a part of your identity because it doesn't fit their belief of who or what you are, based on whatever preconceived notions they had that caused them to believe that.

[CCSir 400]

I get where he's coming from, and yes, it's never a good thing to assume someone's sexuality. That being said, there are a few things that are a little problematic here.

The best way for a public figure to address this would probably be to just clarify the situation once and not give the rumours more power than they should have, but he has made recurring statements about his "gay friends" and how the rumours were harmful and difficult to the point of making it look like persecution.

He's self-conscious about not being homophobic in his answers, so props to him for that, but it's a bit tough to not interpret his reactions as associating homosexuality with shame. Tricky situation to be in I guess.

[FameHookah 4,588]

Mess hahaha he only makes things worse by saying this, its really sad that he cant accept himself..

Its 2020 sis.. 

[js4754394o9823 6,882]

.

[xoxo Craig 55,649]

2 minutes ago, FameHookah said:

Mess hahaha he only makes things worse by saying this, its really sad that he cant accept himself..

Its 2020 sis.. 

For being not gay?

[FameHookah 4,588]

Just now, xoxo Craig said:

For being not gay?

He is, its sad and obvious. 

 

You'll see a few years later..

[HorusRa2 5,005]

Im sure its frustrating but at the end of the day we all have problems. And I for one dont have the level of empathy for him that others might. I mean from a class perspective hes not among the millions of people going hungry, living in a pandic without health insurance or living paycheck to paycheck and in duress. So excuse me for not caring that he cant block out some toxic online scrutiny about who he sleeps with. 

[BUtterfield 8 41,273]

1 minute ago, FameHookah said:

He is, its sad and obvious. 

 

You'll see a few years later..

I just hope he does it on his own terms and not by a leaked picture or video 

[xoxo Craig 55,649]

3 minutes ago, FameHookah said:

He is, its sad and obvious. 

 

You'll see a few years later..

Please rid yourself of this toxic insecure mindset. You're projecting internalised homophobia onto Shawn, and that isn't fair at all

[js4754394o9823 6,882]

When he's silent y'all are making dumb theories 

When he says what he feels, he has a problem with himself and he cares too much

It's so toxic

And can y'all imagine how awful it would be if he was really gay and people all this time were making fun of a person in the closet... 

[js4754394o9823 6,882]

6 minutes ago, FameHookah said:

He is, its sad and obvious. 

 

You'll see a few years later..

And lets say he is, what are you trying to do exactly?

Pulling people out of the closet ain't funny

Calling people gay when they are not ready and comfortable is disgusting

[Hyperballad 4,294]

Don’t you love how the gays will complain about how "men don’t share their feelings or vulnerabilities, and they’re internalized homophobia keeps them from enjoying more feminine things"- yet, whenever a straight-identifying male actually DOES, he’s called a "closet homo" and "a hunty".