Shawn Mendes in Hot Water After Making seemingly "homophobic" remarks in an interview with Rolling Stone

Go for it. I had everyone fooled- til the very end.

They put anyone on the cover of Rolling Stone these days.

His Instagram response. He doesn't deny saying what he said, but implies it was taken out of context. To me it sounds like his management might have just answered questions for him to try and shut down the gay rumors.

It used to be that a closeted celebrities handlers told any interviewers to just avoid the subject altogether and, if they didn't, they gave the star a pat response about privacy and being a gentleman so not talking about girls, etc. I'm not sure what motivated Shawn to broach the subject in this way, but it's unfortunate to say the least.

People get overworked over nothing these days. I don't think what he said is homophobic

He'll have to pose semi naked to make up for this

Why does it bother him so much, it's not like the gay rumors are hurting his career or have gone mainstream.? Thou dothest protest too much i say.

It's not homophobic. But is he straight?

R3 No trained PR person gave those answers. That was all him.

Why doesn't he just come as bi or pansexual? It's the "in" thing these days.

Or he could just pull out a Lucas Hedges where he has only one foot out of the closet.

R4 because in the past PR teams and celebs wanted to completely extinguish gay rumors. Today they want to wink at them to keep gays interested along with the fan girls.

I can't see anything terribly wrong with what he said. It was heartfelt and honest for his tender age. Give the kid a break.

He likey girls!

Not even most rabid fangirls buy that's he completely straight. Surprisingly unwoke statement from someone whose songwriting partner is transgender.

His response reeks of a closeted 20 year old, whose being pressured by his management to stay closeted or his career is over. His interview sounded like someone cracking under the pressure.

R17 I don't get it though. Wouldn't coming out as pansexual help his career?

It's not what he said, it's the constant effort in denying what's pretty obvious.

In the end he will say something he'll regret for sure. The i'm so nice that i don't want to upset anybody won't work in the long run.

Don't want to come out, great, but be smart enough and don't talk about it. Nobody is buying what he is trying to sell anyway and it's not like the gay rumours are affecting his career at all.

We have plenty of examples of people who denied, denied and denied till they came out. In most cases they were forgiven and embraced after that but i don't people who do that will get the gentle treatment in a future. It was easier to forgive people who really risked their career with an early coming out, but coming out it's not the end of a career anymore, at least not in music

R19 A large part of his fan base is teenage girls who believe that if they just had one chance, they could be with him. IF he is gay, which nobody knows but him, I could see that being a reason to stay closeted. Because once you are an out young musician, you are always the “gay one”. That comes before your actual talent. Troye Sivan and Hailey Kiyoko are good examples of this.

R20 is right. He has been marketed as a potential boyfriend to all these teenage girls. Once you have marketed yourself that way, it doesn't really make sense to come out.

[quote] A large part of his fan base is teenage girls who believe that if they just had one chance, they could be with him.

And they helped to perpetuate this in the interview by telling that he fucked a random bartender

There are a million pretty teenage white males with guitars lined up to be the next Shawn Mendes. The minute he came out of the closet, he’d be replaced just like that. If these little girls can’t fantasize about marrying him, then they’ll go for the next guy.

It's excruciating watching him continually deny what anyone with eyes, ears and a modicum of experience already knows.

C'mon Shawn, we all know you gay.

R18 You have to understand the nature of the business. Young performers are heavily pressured by management, agents, PR people etc. to remain closeted and appear heterosexual, even more so for men than women. Every actor or singer who has come out in recent years have all recounted the physiological pressure placed upon them to stay closeted. This involves everything from creating fake relationships, being seen with attractive members of the opposite sex frequently etc. etc. There is no way Shawn would be allowed or feel comfortable saying he's anything but straight for now.

Here's the thing, if Shawn weren't gay and/or isn't bothered by these rumors then why bring it up in an interview? This is just me reading between the lines, but his answers scream of someone who is not just professionally but personally still really conflicted about his sexuality. I think he is gay but perhaps still in the "it's a phase," or "I'm bisexual" stage of coming out. I'm 29 and I didn't finally fully admit to myself that I was gay until I was bout 24 and fell in love with another man for the first time.

R26 is right. Numerous adults are making a very nice living off of Shawn Mendes. They all have an investment in him and want him to stay closeted.

I don't understand what's so bad about him being honest about how he feels. It isn't like he was promoting it for others to do. It's similar to that trans writer's piece being criticized for not saying having a vagina installed was going to fix all her mental issues.

Reposting this from another thread. Some tweets on the "shawn homophobic" search on Twitter

[quote] shawn mendez is homophobic lol blames anxiety though ok

[quote] is Shawn Mendes homophobic I keep rereading this and I’m confused if so I hope he balds by the age of 21

[quote] Shawn’s interview was lowkey homophobic like I’m sorry sis but build a bridge there are worse things in this world than being gay

[quote] shawn mendes would be a lot cooler if he owned his personality and femininity like if ur confident about it no one can say shit about it, but he’s giving homophobic people the exact power they want by being afraid/insulted/uncomfortable about it. he could really use his fame to have a positive effect and be a great ally to the community in this scenario but he’s just... not :/

[quote] shawn mendes making y’all feel bad for calling him gay when he’s really just showing his homophobia why is shawn mendes so pressed about people calling him gay.... where is the oppression ma’am.... if you’re straight and not homophobic why are you so PRESSED......

[quote] shawn mendes' got some internalized homophobia or something

Boy done fucked up

All of those people sound like mentally deficient idiots, though. Does he have to care what their whine du jour is?

r30 For someone described like this: " Mendes often finds himself watching his own interviews, analyzing his voice and his body language. He’ll see an anonymous stranger comment on the way he crossed his legs once and try not to do it again. He pulls out his phone to show me his Twitter account — his name is the only recent search." I'm sure he cares

He a gay.

R28 because as has been pointed out Shawn is not a private individual. He AGREED to become a corporation known as Shawn Mendes, Inc.

People invested their time, money and expertise in Shawn for 1 reason. They wanted to make $$$$$. They thought they were investing in a straight male that could be sold to straight teen girls.

If they could make as much money off of Shawn being gay, then they wouldn't care about Shawn coming out as gay. But they can't. It's all about the $$$$.

R31 I wonder if his nice guy image is also a carefully cultivated facade.

R23: Sorry but that's simply not true. Sam Smith and Troye Sivan had careers and they are openly gay, and there are literally tons of straight singers better looking than him and most of them better singers that don't have his career.

If coming out kills your career now it's simply because your music sucks not because you are gay.

And not, we are not in the 80's anymore, most girls don't dream to marry their idol at all

Closeted gay men are exhausting, and unfortunately, not going anywhere—ever. Until the end of time.

Yes, R34.

Poor little fagalah.

The amount of times the interview reinforces he's straight sounds fishy. From the “There’s definitely some cuties here,” comment, the whole mess of not being gay, his relationship with Baldwin to him fucking the bartender, hmmm

R28 there is something interesting about what you said. Comparing Shawn to the vagina writer.

I think it has to do with "marketing" yourself or your cause in one way but suddenly revealing yourself or your cause to be much different than what you've been saying all along.

And they KNEW all along that what they were saying wasn't true but was just more palatable to the public.

He can't win. If he stays in the closet, or if he comes out. If he comes out, all gay men will lose interest in him.

R41 has decreed it, so it must be!🙄

The next ricky martin no one is buying it lol

r41 At the moment, his life is being dictated by homophobes. Or rather, the assumption of what homophobes want of him and then bending over backwards to appeal to those people. If he comes out he'll take control of his own life and take away the power they have over him (as well everyone who is currently exploiting him).

Now more than ever: just die in a grease fire, you HOMOPHOBIC, talent free little prick.

r41 The dumbest shit I've read all day

^ part of the Twitterati

That’s an asshole thing to say. That’s who he really is. And, when he comes out—he’ll br an asshole and a liar.

R41: Oh yes, he can win Harry Styles shows exactly how, not making yourself a fool over internet rumours and having some confidence. Of course Harry border gaybaiting but at least he doesn't lose sleep because some random guy in Wisconsin thinks he is gay.

Why really surprise me is how dumb is his team because this is exactly the type of interview some actors give when they play gay characters, they are so obsessed to be perceived as straight than end coming across as homophobic closet cases.

During the Élite promotion the actors play to fuck, marry, kill with all the characters of the show and it was incredibly refreshing that noone of the male actors had a problem choosing to fuck or marry when it was a male character. Of course they are spanish, i doubt american actors would react the same way

I get what he is saying. Some of these gay accusations are out of hand. And its not homophobic for a 100% straight man to want to be perceived as straight. It doesn't matter if they are rich and famous. Most women are attracted to men who only like women. Thats why I don't really disclose that I am bi when i hook up with chicks.

R39 I think there is some truth in the bartender story though. There's some footage of them at Sziget (fangirls were freaking out because she touched his face in the vid). They were in the background of someone else's vid. I remember the footage was posted on here a in the Shawn Mendes thread around that time. Saw a fangirl on IG today comment her friend was there that night outside his hotel and saw them together. Of course a reporter is going to include that, especially since people are so interested in his love life and squeaky clean image.

He wants to pitch himself as a neurotic artist with complexities and untold depths of emotion and probably hates the idea that he's just a boring old gay pop idol.

r51 Nobody said it wasn't, just that the interviewer deliberately chose to write that down to reinforce his macho man image

R51: I doubt it. PR teams plant that kind of story (with pics and videos of course) for a lot of artist if there's some image to promote.

The main problem of the interview is that he looks like someone with really serious issues. He is on the spotlight for more than 5 years, he should have learn how to deal with rumours by now.

Of course he is going to have anxiety attacks if being perceived as gay cause him such turmoil. There are gay rumours about a lot of actors, singers and athletes, and i can understand it's uncomfortable for them (specially if they have a realtionship with a girl because they are called liars at the same time) but the best way to debunk gay rumours is to live your life and time will tell. The problem here is that he is not straight no matter how much he try and doing this kind of interviews he is only shoting in his foot.

He is not going to have a pussyhound image or a macho one because he is not (and he wouldn't be even if he were straight). And the Hailey Baldwind comment is simply ridiculous. His PR team died for them being in the covers and they were supposedly something but he denied it three times? Give me a break, that's ridiculous. They were a thing but she only took five minutes to came back to Bieber

Bieber had this rumours about him since the minute he went famous and yet never had this kind of meltdowns about it

He's so gay

R35, Troye Sivan’s career has yet to be big as Shawn’s, and Sam Smith was never marketed as a heartthrob. Sam Smith was too fugly for any girl to care about whether he was gay.

R55: And the gay rumours about Bieber were mean spirited, they wanted him to be gay because they really disliked him.

The difference is Bieber is not gay. What is remarkable is that even with his upbringing he was able to deal with the rumours without making homophobic remarks. Probably because he doesn't hate himself (even with all his issues)

Oh ffs. It's not a homophobic statement.

R57: Yes, whatever you want, but Sam Smith is way more successful than him being gay and ugly, and Troye has a decent career without lying. Maybe the problem is both have way more talent than Shawn.

Nobody said coming out wound't affect to your mainstream appeal, what i said is that it's not the end of your career

It's homophobic only if you have ZERO critical thinking skills.

r59 Oh great, another self hating fag

R59: The whole article screams internalized homophobia. He seems to hate to be perceived as gay (as if that's the worst thing you can think of him)

Both R57 and R60 are right.

It wouldn't be the end of Shawn's career. But he would make less money and his handlers don't want that to happen.

Sam Smith has a better voice than Shawn and Troye was never marketed as a boyfriend to straight girls.

R62 definitely a fag here

R55 Bieber was probably too drugged up to even care. Bieber isn't exactly the type of person to care about his image (also regarding other stuff than his sexuality). Some people do more than others.

Poor kid might very well be straight, but people have just decided he is gay and refuse to believe otherwise. I can understand why he could sometimes find that frustrating, nothing he said is homophobic to me, he phrased it all as thoughtfully and carefully as some uneducated kid can.

[quote] Sam Smith has a better voice than Shawn and Troye was never marketed as a boyfriend to straight girls.

Disagree. Sam Smith is an acquired taste. Shawn's voice is more commercially appealing and unlike Smith, is being marketed as a sex symbol. Sam Smith and Troy Sivan come across as asexual anyway.

If he came out as anything other than gay, he would be accused of queerbaiting, but if he keeps announcing he's straight, it comes across as if he has something to hide. That said, being accused of queerbaiting is not as bad as being accused of internalized homophobia.

R64, I never cared for Sam Smith’s voice. He sounds disgusting — he enunciates like he has food in his mouth. I think he has better vocal technique than Shawn, but he still sounds disgusting.

R60, Troye has yet to achieve a Top 20 hit in the US, let alone even a song that ends up on the Year-End Hot 100.

[quote] being accused of queerbaiting is not as bad as being accused of internalized homophobia.

Well, too late now

What about me?!

r69: And? It's not like Shawn had that many top 10 hits. Troye's albums sold well with a lot less promotion and they are way better

And you don't liking Sam's voice doesn't change the fact that a lot of people do. He sold way more with his first album than Shawn's with the three combined

R67 Agree. And can understand that too. Especially if it's all you hear everyday. There are tons of comments about it on twitter and he's known for checking his twitter daily and searching for his name to see what people think. The article actually says his name is his only recent search. He's bound to see those comments.

[quote] causing backlash from some in the LGBTQ community.

I'll bet 5 paychecks that at least 2 of those letters don't give a fk about this or anything homophobic.

Lies! I'm a sex symbol too!

He’s gayer than a birthday tablecloth

r67 r73 Oh noo it's so hard being straight 😫

Personally, I don't find anything wrong with what he said or how he said it.

Side note, the actor/celebrity who has given the best answer to gay rumors/questions was Johnny Galecki. He continues to make millions from TBBT, and I'm okay with that and hope he continues to keep raking in the cash.

[quote]He'll have to pose semi naked to make up for this

Semi? SEMI?

Is this the equivalent of 'i'm not racist I have a black friend'??

^ Guuuurllllllllllll

Shawn is an LGBT advocate.

^^^^ 🙄🙄

r82 Sure, Jan

R82: No, he is not. If he was he would deal way better with the gay rumours for sure because he wouldn't think that being gay was that terrible.

The worst thing is he could avoid this mess of interview very easily. Those gay rumours didn't affect his career at all, being perceived as an insecure homophobe wouldn't help him for sure

I wonder what the biggest dick he has deepthroated is.

The response on Twitter is interesting.

A lot of gay guys are going after Shawn for his comments. I agree that if he is actually straight, his comments do come of as homophobic because he's implying being perceived as being gay is a bad thing.

His fans, mostly girls, are attacking the gay guys now saying Shawn has been abused because people have been questioning his sexuality for years. I did respond to one girl saying when Shawn gets gay bashed in a alley and left for dead, he can claim abuse.

R85 Read the interview again. Straight after he says he hates the piece of him that thinks that and knows in his heart it's not a bad thing.

I've seen him talk positively about the LGBT community multiple times.

Weren't all the Magcon guys like Cameron Dallas either outed as assholes or at the very least extremely superficial? I wonder if Shawn would have developed that same reputation if he hadn't gotten famous.

r87 I find this dude's thread really accurate, especially these points

[quote] Shawn mendes “coming out straight” is such utter bullshit. This all boils down to how insecure he is and how much he thinks its offensive to be compared to someone as gay. As if a group of people hoping youre a brother to the comnunity somehow makes you some victim.

[quote] Based on his interviews, this clearly hasnt impacted his love life or ability to get laid. This is nothing more than a swipe at gay people. Trying to shame a community for hoping they had someone like shawn on their side.

[quote] Also, just look at many of these comments. This article and statement of shawn mendes and the way he did it just makes it seem like lgbt ppl were trying to force something on him and this empowered all these homophobic fans to make some pretty ugly comments on here. Thanks.

Good for that guy, R90.

R90 Not a lie people are forcing his (either straight or gay) sexuality on him. Why should it even matter.

So fangirls thirsting after him are also 'forcing their sexuality on him r92?

[quote] Also, just look at many of these comments. This article and statement of shawn mendes and the way he did it just makes it seem like lgbt ppl were trying to force something on him and this empowered all these homophobic fans to make some pretty ugly comments on here. Thanks.

I don't think he has homophobic fans. Those who are are not fans. I don't buy the argument that you can't fantasize about someone or lust after them because they announce they are straight. That doesn't make them homophobic, just homosexual. Straight male actors are shipped together in fan fiction, and those actors don't seem to mind at all. If anything, Shawn should be flattered by the attention.

He loves saying hearts.

Personally, I appreciate the candor. I don't think the saying of what he said was homophobic. I think he was spotlighting his own homophobia (albeit without using the word) and encouraging (with some rudeness) people to give people their freedom to choose to come out.

If he's straight as he says, this is sad, but not enraging for me. If he's actually gay, this is even more sad, and I think he needs good help.

But nothing angers me from his words. But I've always disliked squeaky clean - almost no one is that. Sometimes the dirt is homophobic thoughts about oneself. Apparently he recognizes this.

Apparently, "Shawn Mendes’ Sexuality Speculation Stress Is Another Consequence of Femmephobia"

I don't think what he said is ragingly homophobic but it is unfortunate. He's basically saying he is uncomfortable being perceived as gay aka femme and that it's bad thing (both being thought of as and thinking that it's bad to be seen as gay). This why people are getting upset by the comments and I agree. If it wasn't such a big deal to him 1) why did he raise the subject 2) why didn't he just respond by saying "look guys, I'm not gay but I appreciate my LBGTQ fans"

Wait. Shawn Mendes claimed he fucked a female bartender?

Lmao this thread

R93 Thirsting not. Claiming he's straight and going out of your way to proof it: yes. Doesn't matter what sexuality your talking about. The whole assuming sexuality thing shouldn't even matter.

Notorious pussyhound. Big Bush supporter.

[quote] The whole assuming sexuality thing shouldn't even matter.

But we're humans , so it does

I don't think he's talking about oppression, just sources of anxiety and how irrational or inappropriate he himself believes them to be.

Maybe I come from a different place, as my partner has outright relationship based OCD and has to constantly divulge all the weird thoughts he has that simply must mean we should break up (he catches and treats himself, to be clear).

All I got from this interview is that Mendes has homophobia (and yes, 'femmephobia') related anxieties and its dawning on him he needs some help, but that others in social media aren't helping it. That's it.

Dennying gay rumours never works (specially because there are a lot of people who came out after years and years of denying being gay).

If you are not gay you only need to ignore them and let the time put everything in place.

The problem is that most people who really care about the gay rumours are in fact gay and what they don't want to do is come out.

The interview is a disaster, he look like a very insecure guy with little self respect who is annoyed by what people say about him on internet. The interview didn't made him any favours, the guy rumours will stay but he upset part (maybe a small part) of his fanbase in the process (and he didn't even look interesting, just and insecure and boring guy)

R98 Shawn's not claiming. The reporter who followed him for several days is. Some footage posted on here in the Shawn Mendes thread around time shows there's some truth to the story.

Exactly r88. People are ignoring what he actually said.

Isn't it ironic r58 Bieber is a lot more touchy freely with guys than Shawn Mendes has ever been. There was even that picture of him sleeping in bed draped all over his two roommates and still no one really thinks Justin Bieber is gay. And it's all because he's not stereotypically effeminate like Shawn.

I love her hair band @R80

R98 But he also says he hates the side of him that thinks it's bad and knows deep down that it isn't. People who are getting upset should work on their reading comprehension.

R90 I agree with everything in that thread!

R107: There are a lot of people who are not effeminate that have gay rumours around them.

The problem with Mendes is that he seems incredibly pressed about the gay rumours which generally means there's some truth in them. That video denying being gay was a bad idea but this interview was way worse. If he was straight time will put everything in place and gay rumours will fade, probably not dissapear but who cares about gay rumours when is happy.

R105: There are some true that he was with her at the same time, period. You can make a journalist say whatever you want for some money. The problem is that those planted stories didn't make any impact on how people perceive him

He's over anyway. All his songs sound the same and he's not a good performer.

Anyone upset over that comment is an idiot with too much time on their hands.

R109: People who got upset read perfectly well. The whole interview shows his internalized homophobia and his desire to be perceived as straight and he decided to put that in the spotlight. Not a smart move

R113: Maybe you are the idiot, because deciding what other people has to feel is really idiotic

R109 you see the Twitter cut and pastes from above. These people are not the kind who appreciate detail or common sense because that gets in the way of their pithy comments and outrage highs.

Thanks for proving my point, r114!

I'm firmly in the "he should have worded this better or not said anything at all" camp. His fan girls are freaking the fuck out on Twitter flaming anyone who questions what he said.

🙄 this is all this glass closet queen deserves. Another George Michael in the making with much less talent and appeal.

Shawn has had some blond twin guy from Australia following him around for a year. They were in a TMZ video andcShawn did not look comfortable with cameras on them. But we're supposed to believe he's fucking some bartender because there was a picture of him talking the herr or caressing her hair of some shit?

Good, the idiots as displayed in that Twitter sample deserve some pushback.

R118: He is not remotely in George Michael league

The good thing for him is that is a green light to go bearding full mode. He can even use his friend Taylor Swfit (not that worked well for Harry Styles, Taylor Lautner or Tom Hilddleston)

R107 Yeah, lots of people that have gay rumours around them, but haven't seen it lately to the degree Shawn has. Can imagine being pressed if that's alle people talk about.

Taylor Swift reacts.

Gen WHY do people keep thinking I'm gay. Just because I'm closeted and hang out with gay guys..It's so unfair!!

^ That photo of what's his name in the middle always cracks me up

R122: Did the gay rumours affect his career? not at all. Did affect his dating life? i doubt it

And no, he is not the only one. Taylor Lautner had a lot of memes about his hands too. Now he is nowhere to be seem so nobody cares about his being gay or his bearding life.

And the problem is not being affected (to such degree) for the gay rumours, the problem is being dumb enough to put them front and center of an interview. In the video denying being gay he was lucky enough to not come accross and homophobe. This time he was not that lucky

Boy, he done fu*ked up. He should have said nothing at all.

How is it a femme guy can be so insecure about being thought of as gay in 2018 whereas in the 80s you had all these glam hair bands constantly getting laid even while wearing high heels and makeup?

Someone step in and shake him. Does he not know anything about George Michael. Really Shawn! Doesn’t have George Michael’s talent or voice but he has the girls going crazy over him. Either he is or he isn’t. He needs to get over it or he will be another head case.

R126 I don't think what he said is homophobic. People are getting too worked up.

But my feeeeeelssss!!!!!

, when someone says, I'm not gay, then goes on to explain, it's great if you are, but I'm not gay. It's not a compliment

I was straight till the day I died of cancer!

It's very easy. You should never address gay rumours unless you are directly questioned. And if you are questioned you should be direct, deny it (if they are not true or you are a closet case) without given explanations. The more you explain the more fake you look

And whose fault was it to bring this topic to everyone's mouth once again? He shouldn't even had to mention anything

Really, r134? When someone gives a straight yes or no answer to a "loaded" question like one's sexuality, I give them major side eye. I like a little bit of an explanation.

Yeah Shawn shouldn’t have said anything or brought this up. Plus I don’t think this interview changes anybody’s mind on his sexuality.

Here, Shawn. Come on out, Shawn. It's okay, Shawn. Dong is good.

Who the hell is Shawn Mendes?

Some of you have been hurt so much you can't see another's perspective. Masculinity is a source of pride for some men. That masculinity is clearly defined and bound to their attraction to women; there is no fluidity. And the funny thing is this guy is truly progressive; being progressive shouldn't make one lose their sense of pride and identity.

Aye pobrecito. oh well, he's still adorable.

[quote]Mendes often finds himself watching his own interviews, analyzing his voice and his body language. He’ll see an anonymous stranger comment on the way he crossed his legs once and try not to do it again. He pulls out his phone to show me his Twitter account — his name is the only recent search.

To me this is the bigger headline. Calm down man. He needs to stop obsessing over everything people say about him online.

R72, Shawn has had 6 Top 20 singles in the US, which is a hell of a lot more than Troye Sivan. Shawn also has 4x the amount of Instagram followers as Troye Sivan. The two are not in the same league.

R142 Yes, that's what I got from the article. He's a perfectionist and should care less about what people think of him.

Shawn honey, you were fully gay when you let me fuck you after the Victoria's Secret show. I thought we were happy together

I honestly don't know what to make of this. Clearly the guy has some serious issues surrounding his masculinity, I wonder if part of it extends from being bullied in high school for being effeminate? As others have mentioned, sexuality - specifically heterosexuality - is deeply ingrained in our cultural constrictions surrounding masculinity. Even in this day and age, many straight guys are threatened when their sexuality is questioned.

His statements in the interview are conflicted and since he's taking the position of a being a straight guy, then his paranoia about being perceived as gay is based in homophobia. His anxiety around this issues, however, is really extreme and why I think there is a lot more going on behind the scenes. There are two possible scenarios I can think of.

The first is that he's gay but still struggling with it and its heightened by the fame he achieved at a young age. Shawn was only 13/14 when he started becoming well known before puberty really began to take full hold and I'm sure as he aged his management would have been sending negative messages around the possibility of being gay. Added to that, Shawn is from Pickering which is a conservative stronghold in the Greater Toronto Area, We can't discount that he may have homophobic family issues too. Didn't he admit that when watching Love, Simon he was having a panic attack?

The second possibility and one I'm starting to wonder about, what if Shawn is actually dealing with transgender issues? His anxiety around masculinity may stem from the fact that he may actually identify more as a woman.

All and all I can see how people view his comments as homophobic. He really should have either not brought up the subject or just laughed off the rumors.

What does John Mayer have to say?

R146 I understood from that paragraph that the panic attack was about In My Blood, a more personal song, coming out that night. He's talked about that before in other interviews.

Billy posted this shortly after Shawn's interview was published......

Yeah r145 That's the guy. Zac, he's a twin and he's been traveling with Shawn a lot over the past yeah. That's the guy TMZ filmed him with. He has nothing to do with the music industry if I'm not mistaken. On a side note I have to be honest. Coming out would hurt Shawn's career. Troye Sivan isn't anywhere near as big as Shawn is and neither is that guy from England. People don't have a problem with an artist being gay so much as they have a problem with them admitting it. Admitting it takes away the plausible deniability the fans have in their own minds.

I miss us, Shawn.

I'm a model and Hailey introduced me and Shawn a year ago at a party. I saw him in NYC a few days ago, before he went home to Toronto. The sex is great, thanks for asking R150

R149 Who cares what Billy Eichner thinks? He's just a raging SJW.

That picture of Eichner is so appropriate. I'm sure he has that look on his face constantly.

George Michael 2.0. When he gets outed he'll wish he never sad those things.

What's the matter with what Eichner said?

R75 gosh, he's looking fine...

From R96's INTO piece.

[quote]Yes, in the end, Mendes leads a very privileged life few will get to experience. He’s a multi-millionaire with tons of adoring fans and, as an artist, he creates work that gets made and marketed to millions. He doesn’t experience a fraction of the ridicule or violence that LGBTQ people, especially transgender people (and especially especially trans women of color) experience daily for transgressing rigid norms.

Oh gawd, how mind-numbingly predictable and didactic. Is there some sort of queer activist auto-text-generator I'm not aware of, a la the Chomsky bot?

And here's the author, Miss Rodriguez, scolding a Mendes for his thirstiness.

"Fix it"

*a Mendes fan

Oh god, just leave him alone. The over-the-top outrage these days is getting out of hand.

R157 It's from IntoMore, which means it has to be all about trans and genderqueer whatever, or it isn't newsworthy. And the petulant and condescending "Fix it" Twitter post is just part of the formula.

Yeah I try to get into Mendes's head on this but I can't.

I'm not really femme, but as a teenager I was definitely self-conscious at things which might come off that way. I think we've all been there, including many straight guys.

We older than him grew up in a time that was less accepting and understanding about gays, but if he did grow up in a conservative environment than it wouldn't make a huge difference.

None of us can imagine the pressure of being a huge teenage star and what that has done to him, especially what his handlers tell him and what it's like to be a heart throb to girls if you aren't actually into them.

Which is why it really doesn't make sense in light of this for him to be straight. Sure there'd still be a lot of anxiety, but it's a chicken or the egg sort of thing...

Is he anxious about his sexuality despite being straight because of being a star- Or did these issues come about because of his (not straight) sexuality to begin with? As in, this source of deep personal stress for him only arose because he's NOT straight. It is hard to buy the story that he's a poor little victim of cruel gay-sayers despite being totally straight and if only they'd stop everything would be better.

[quote] Oh god, just leave him alone. The over-the-top outrage these days is getting out of hand.

You mean you need to have a beard?

^ The poster who calls people "sugars" who don't despise Meghan Markle

Guys, I need weed right now, I'm too sober to read all these comments. Maybe I should get shrooms, I think it would help me....A LOT.

Shawn Can't be gay. Rolling stone said he talked to a female bartender once.

Lol It would be rich R146, for Shawn to end up trans, getting an outpouring of support for enduring misogyny... since he has just made history, as the first straight man to get an outpouring of support for enduring homophobia. This guy has all of his bases covered.

Found a picture of his guitar case at the airport ;)

I'm girly because I grew up with 15 female cousins, it's how genetics work!!!! It's science, baby!!!!

I get it, if people are constantly saying something that is not true about you it can be a pain having to constantly correct that. I prefer Hugh Jackman's response. "Why would I get mad people say I am gay? It's like saying I am from Pittsburgh. I'm not but it doesn't change anything. if I was."

R168, only the female baggage handlers are sexy because I'M NOT GAY. Guys come on, do I have to repeat myself again? *cries* x 1000000000000 (Now go buy my magazine, I need retirement money)

R168 That looks like the coffin Shawn's career will be lying in soon.

I still laugh at Demi Lovato shading Shawn at the Billboard Music Awards. She knows a closeted phony when she sees one.

He doesn't deny being gay there.

Closeted gay guys will always be closeted gay guys, ashamed of who they are. The in 20 years, he’ll get caught cruising for cock in a men’s public restroom.

The real problem gays have with Shawn Mendes tonight is that he is more feminine than he is masculine. If he was masculine, you all would be saying how much you want him to fuck you. I'm sure all you homosexuals calling him a homophobe were the same ones documenting his limp wrists. Deep down you are judging him for revealing his femininity candidly, and being insecure with it. He is not even ready to acknowledge being sexual, he is just coming to terms with his femininity. Even though 99% of us have lived through the same, some of you are still judgement cunts, and this why we never get anywhere.

What’s funny to me is how many straight people defend the Shawn Mendes/Dwight Howard/Hugh Jackman types to the DEATH: “THEY ARE STRAIGHT BECAUSE THEY SAY THEY ARE STRAIGHT!!! HOW COULD THEY BE GAY???!?! SHRIEEEKKK!!!1!1!l”

People lie, especially about sexuality. Why is this so hard to understand? Men literally kill over being outed. This is the reality of the world we live in. One of my best friend’s straight guy friends came on to me while drunk a few times last year (he has a girlfriend; quelle surprise), and she has maintained his strict str8ness to this day...so annoying/delusional.

r176 Nah, the problem we have is that he sounded like a fucking dick while saying it

But... is it really our place to force him out, or judge him because he’s not ready if you truly believe he’s gay? I was outed before I was ready and that was hard. I can’t imagine adding fame and expectations on top of all that.

[quote] He doesn’t experience a fraction of the ridicule or violence that LGBTQ people, especially transgender people (and especially especially trans women of color)

More oppression olympics. The author doesn't realize that she is herself minimizing the feelings of gay men who don't identify as transgender. And why begrudge someone because they are successful? We've seen many people of wealth and privilege commit suicide or go insane. The irony of deriding someone for their insensitivity while being flagrantly insensitive still amazes me. And I didn't like what Shawn said either.

R178 Your opinion. Didn't think he sounded like a dick at all.

r178 I dont think he sounded like a dick. I think people are completely missing his perspective. I hate that we are so victimized all the time we start turning on our own. It's sad!

The entire point of that article is [bold]SHAWN IS STRAIGHT[/bold]

I have no idea if he is straight or not, but seriously that is the only real narrative throughout the text, that Mr. Mendes likes girls. And like every good narrative it has the climax of a ending where he has a one night stand with that chick.

It is actually just a funny piece to read because of that. Also, I think the journalist was struggling because Shawn doesn't really have much of a personality.

I'm not really bothered what Shawn said, although if he is actually straight it sounds likes a stupid pity party. Shawn's fan girls on are in hysterics on twitter....the line I keep seeing is "he was angry at having this sexuality pushed on him" .... what the fuck does that even mean?!

R184 I see them actually freaking out more about the smoking weed thing.

People still react to weed in 2018 r185?! It's straight legal in so many places now.

R180, he’s a rich, attractive, tall man. And now he apparently likes women, same as 90+% of the men in the world. Hard to sympathize. In fact, he can probably afford to get taken down a peg or two.

What makes him think that people don't already know? His flames can be seen from space.

If he thinks it's bad now, wait until he begins to transition to Samantha Mendes.

R186 14 year old fangirls do.

R189 Glad to see I'm not the only one who wonders if Shawn has some gender identity issues.

He doesn't. That just TRAs trying to muscle their way into someone else's problems because he's a celeb.

I really don't care whether he is gay or straight, seems like a cool guy. No twenty something straight or closeted gay guy wants gay rumors to be going around about him.

Just as no out gay guy wants rumors going around about him that he might actually be straight.

So are Shawn and John Mayer just weed buddies and not lovers? What is happening in this Bizarro world?!

[quote] seems like a cool guy.

He seems pretty boring, does nothing but search his own name and obsess that his fans like him and that his hair is perfect.

The walking cliche of an airhead popstar.

I support my boy no matter what ❤

My main thought is it really so bad if people think a straight guy is gay? If there are rumors that a gay guy is gay but he's not ready to come out or lives in a conservative environment, that could have actual repercussions. What does a straight man suffer if some people think he's gay. He can still get girls and fuck them and that's that. At worst even if every girl in town thinks he's gay and will complete refuse to sleep with him despite all efforts (would that really happen?), he can just go somewhere else.

If that guy is famous with millions of be adoring fans, he can get almost anyone he wants. There's literally no problem.

What's most interesting about this article is that while it seems to be refuting that he's gay, it brings his psychological turmoil into such focus. Here's a poor oppressed star who is so totally straight (but a bit feminine, but has zero effect on his ability to get laid) that it drives him to distraction just deeply wishing he could be seen with a girl and then eventually getting so stressed that he throws himself at a bartender and allegedly has a one night stand... just to prove he can?

Nothing about any of this and his reaction makes sense.

This article, in an attempt to refute gay rumors, actually gives more evidence that he's struggling with something extremely heavy and it's not what he says it is.

It's clear he needs (and has needed for some time) a good therapist. I know it's hard to disconnect, but as his therapist the first thing I'd advise is cutting off all social media except through a third party. If all he does is obsess over what people are saying on him on Twitter all day no one he's gone pathological.

He doesn’t seem like a “cool guy” at all.

[quote]This article, in an attempt to refute gay rumors, actually gives more evidence that he's struggling with something extremely heavy and it's not what he says it is.

I said before that he is overdoing it trying to maintain the perfect image for his fans/consumers. He probably exhausted from this. What he is suffering from doesn't sound uncommon in young superstars, but when you add this element of his sexuality in all of this it becomes much more complicated. I just hope he doesn't end up like Britney.

This article in fascinating in how revealing it seems to be. The life if Shawn truly seems to be a misery. I would say besides neuroticism he definitely has OCD- which can help with the way he strictly structures his daily gym and vocal lessons routines- but hurts with imaginary rules like "never refuse a selfie", causing him to swim with fans wherever he goes, likely never getting a break. And what drives him to endless twitter himself.

He seems to have treated the reporter like a therapy. Saying he's constantly frightened that all this will disappear tomorrow and he'll be forgotten, shows being a star is about feeding that insatiable void inside him (no not that one!) which also won't let this poor straight boy ever feel himself truly straight. He probably has body dysmorphic disorder as well, or at least whatever the "never straight enough" version of that is.

Also what's this nonsense of just because you are handsome doesn't give you game. Even if that's true, why upon seeing three "cuties" on the beach did he just moan at his own inability to approach them. "I don't have game" is an obvious crutch for something else. You don't need game. In fact just walk in their general direction without saying a thing and they'd be all over you. I want to shake him and say IT'S NOT THAT DIFFICULT.

But I'm sure being more 'brand' than human with all those handlers trying to make him something he's not is what's breaking him down and if his dad or anyone else truly cared about him he'd lay off and give him breathing space.

He should be in college or something. Not on a stage. He needs a long break.

[quote][R109] you see the Twitter cut and pastes from above. These people are not the kind who appreciate detail or common sense because that gets in the way of their pithy comments and outrage highs.

Oh, like that [bold]never[/bold] happens on DL. Eyeroll.

[quote]People still react to weed in 2018 [R185]?! It's straight legal in so many places now.

I see what you did there. Smirk!

R199 I agree with you! People forget that that celebrities are not often viewed as people by their management, rather, they are viewed as commodities. They are molded in and marketed in a manner to which their management feels will give them the maximum profit and fan base. To me Shawn is cracking under the pressure. This interview does reek of a feeling of "the lady doth protest too much." If he's try to quell gay rumors this will do the opposite. He should do what other suspected gays like Hugh or Zac and brush them off saying he's flattered by them etc.

[quote]Also what's this nonsense of just because you are handsome doesn't give you game.

It's true. Having "game" requires a personality, being able to adeptly navigate conversation with a stranger.

A pretty face is not a personality, and often times people who liked simply for being attractive have never really learned to develop a personality.

Gay or straight, I can guarantee Shawn Mendes doesn't have game, because the people he sleeps with just want to fuck him because he is Shawn Mendes. He never has to earn it.

What a dumb nasal voiced auto tuned little queer.

Makes sense, R204. Nobody cares what Shawn has to say or thinks. Even the hetero females he sleeps with want to just chew his taint and dump a load into his thirsty fart box.

We don't know his life. Perhaps he was molested as a child, for all we know; would explain a lot around his terror of -- and obsessive thoughts about -- how people see him & his sexuality 🤷

Gurleen will come out when he’s in his thirties and his career is well over. Everyone will say, “I knew it!” Then quickly realize they don’t care.

Well I hope his idol Beyonce can give him a call and explain that he will break himself trying to be the perfect stage robot

He needs some good dick too. Lord, I bet he will sob uncontrollably once he finally gets some penis inside him to really hit those walls!

R209, he is already getting good dick aka Zac.

Nah r210. I don't believe Zac has blessed him with the D, just yet. Shawn is doing way too much tap dancing for these straight people, to be someone who is a practicing homosexual. Shawn probably doesn't trust any of these guys enough to have sex with them.

I'm just waiting for the sex tape where he's getting his ass pounded while sucking off another cock and jerking two more in each hand. He can say he was experimenting.

r196 You're not special Zac, I also support my boy and SON

[quote] You are the genuine article. ✨

Well John Mayer R213, how about we recreate R212 's fantasy and we both fuck our boy Shawny?

He rips fuckin' farts like a straight frat brah.

"Noice one, duder! Damn son, you reek like ASS. You gotta go take a shit! Have mercy!"

R215, well sorry if my hole is a little loose. The dildo I got was from Africa.

R215 You know some sick fags have jerked off to this video.

R211 he'd trust John Mayer enough though

Why is he ruining his beauty being so neurotic and self-absorbed

Beibs has been been bearded up pretty consistently, R55. So rumors were never perceived as a real threat to $$$. There are still lots of rumors JB is a TIM. But now Hailey is the big deflection.

There was an effective and consistent strategy for the one - Selena, etc. If Shawn and Harry have not had the same, it may be because they cannot sell it whatsoever.

In terms of how widespread the gay talk is, the best equivalent is one mentioned earlier: Taylor Lautner. He like Mendes didn't just have normal gay chatter, but gay chatter that was deafening.

Bieber is straight and was born a male. Get over it.

R221 Remember that Taylor Lautner is now is entirely irrelevant and when he comes out, no one is going to care anymore as he's long past his expiration date. If Shawn goes down the same path, it should demonstrate how far along our community is not and how much more progress we need to make.

R219, Perhaps a cum facial will help me keep my youth, after all ....you can't take my youth away. "Youth", now available on itunes!

He can't come out, straight girls won't go his concerts anymore. He doesn't really have the talent to make it as a musician vs being a pop star. Plus, it doesn't pay near as well.

R215, oops, I boofed! Hee hee hee... cute little me....

R215

He farted

I just met a boy and he farted

And suddenly I’ve found

How wonderful the sound can be

He farted

I just kissed a boy and he farted

And suddenly I tell

How wonderful the smell can be

He farted

Really loud there was music playing

Really soft

And it’s almost like....

If he comes out his career is over. The fangurls will stop caring and he doesn't have the talent to continue a career without them.

R227,

Really soft

Smells like something’s decaying

Are there any singers who actually became more successful after coming out? When did Elton come out, he became massively popular after the lion king, but then did he really have any hit songs after that?

R230, Elton John was massively successful in the ‘70s. He came out as bisexual at some time in the ‘70s. I think his album sales went down, but he continued to have hit songs through the ‘80s. As for the ‘90s, he really only had a few hit songs with The Lion King, but the songs were arguably only popular from the success of The Lion King, not because of him. His biggest hit was “Candle in the Wind 1997” but that was really just a redux and it was catapulted by Princess Di’s death. Also, aging also tends to cause your career to decline.

Not teeny bopper singers that I can think of.

For $ reasons it may make sense to be in the closet for now, but this interview did not help with that. At all.

Beiber, Zayn and others do a good enough job selling PR relationships. The Jonas brothers are trying, even Nick. Shawn does not seem to be able to do so.

Now, he sounds nutty and in denial. He is kind of like a one man conversion camp, triangulating with social media. That would make anyone nuts. I see drugs or self harm in his future. Maybe Mayer can be some support?

Anyone else have confuse him with Charlie Puth when their stuff comes on the radio?

From the parts of the interview I have read, I am completely convinced he is closeted.

Talking about wanting to be seen with a girl. People who are truly dating are seen going to a grocery store or somewhere mundane, not only at some industry event.

Why americans are so bland, I mean David Bowie was so gay since day one and he is a legend,. and girls loved him and then gain so much respect for his craft, someone like this boy should look up if he aspires to be taken as a serious artist and not being the male Taylor Swift

In the end he probably is just a sensitive guy, a very boring but handsome boy, his voice is pretty sissy, but there are straight guys like that too, his music sucks so who cares if he is gay or not

a straight guy would have just laughed it off

I'm a raging heterosexual!!!!!

If you read the entire article, it actually seems very clear to me that the reporter was not a fan of Shawn at all. The way it's written makes it seem, in the most subtextual way possible as to not lose his job I'm sure, that the writer sees thru the entire PR facade that Shawn and his team are trying to present. Shady references to his $8.98 walmart perfume and perfectly positioned comments about him having a panic attack during Love, Simon. It's obvious that Shawn's team tried to set up this entire charade while the interviewer was shadowing him. How convenient that he'd end up cozying up and running off with the bartender... while being shadowed by a reporter. Not to mention the blatantly pathetic comments about Hailey Baldwin being more than a friend. The list goes on and on but, my impression was that the interviewer was trying to highlight just how desperate Shawn and his team were being to make him appear as something he's clearly not. And if you look in the writers twitter likes, he liked tweets from people saying this exact same thing. Shawn and whoever is calling the shots in his career really should've just shut the fuck up because they're collecting their checks anyway. This has only made him look like an idiot and a pathetic mess.

[quote]Shady references to his $8.98 walmart perfume

He has Walmart perfume?

R239, My fragrance is unisex, just like me. Not gay, in case I wasn't clear.

r239, yes, and I wear it....don't you judge me.

R238 I thought the same thing and I haven't even read the whole thing. The part about him checking his social media seemed like a very obvious dig.

It smells just like my hole! I'm glad I have a fan in you, R241. Please leave me a great review and share what it smells like with the rest of the class.

I think he just came out in those comments

Just came in here to comment that what a sad, sad mag Rolling Stone is now. So fucking thin! and small! I remember the good ole days when It was so thick and big. I loved buying it to look at the big pictures, and reading all the articles. Now, it's barely 20 pages.

For the record r234, Shawn is Canadian, not American. We have our share of closet cases and homophobes, but this whiney twink isn't one of 'em.

I love fisting Shawn while wearing the expensive watch that he got for me. He loves luxury!

How unfortunate for him. However, his awkward protestations are relatively harmless. It's not like were going after a new Roy Cohn here.

[R246], you are right he is a canadian but he is an american product, made for white girls consumption....if he was a brit no one cares if he going to bed with guys

R249, But I'm half a Brit. Why is the world against me and my heterosexuality?

[R250], lol come out Shawn, Bowie did it first and then go straight and it was no big deal

R251, You comparing me to Bowie made me cum faster than when I have very straight, non gay, anal sex with a guy.

I think it was more than the reporter seeing through the facade, I think he took offense at being triangulated in to help sell it. Kind of blew up in their faces. This kid needs someone like Tom Cruise had, before his sister. His team also needs to keep him off social media, he looks and sounds headed for a breakdown. Not good for the income stream.

It was shady how the writer avoided using pronouns for the bartender until finally revealinng... the bartender was a she.

The writer probably resented being made to play along with what seemed like a PR setup.

R253

No wonder he was all messed up watching Bohemian Rhapsody. Freddie's story was like a slap in the face.

I was one of those previously saying Shawn Mendes is just too good to be true -- save for being in the closet. Turns out he's a neurotic, people-pleasing, self-hating slightly narcissistic perfectionist. Awww Bless.

The writer, clear, for whatever reason, seems to have had a bit of an agenda, or say hostility towards Shawn. He sounds annoying as fuck, to be fair. What a MESS. This is the best his PR and handlers can do? They needed a friendly interviewer to gloss over the ick and collaborate in the sell, not play Perez Hilton. He needs a new team.

R255 well to be fair, the writer had very little to work with here. Not like Shawn was helping either. Anyone with eyes can see he's flaming/femme whatever. Alas, other than speculation about his sex life what else is there to him for someone to write a fluff piece over?

If there is a next time I recommend Shawn read a book or two. At least he can bore/wow any future interviewers with some late in the day insights.

I read the Kamasutra, it counts right, R258?

Any of you hot female bitches of the opposite sex need your sugar walls tongue-punched?

Me, since Timothée Chalamet is fucking a brazilian fangurl now, R260. Please Shawn, call me by your name.

So he's either a straight guy who is homophobic or a deeply closeted gay guy suffering from internalized homophobia. Either way he's a fucking asshole who is finally showing his true colors. Goodbye to "mr. nice". At least now I know who he truly is and I'm done supporting him.

This boy can't even grow a beard, right?

People think Shawn Mendes is gay because they can't credibly picture him with a girlfriend. Call it gaydar--whatever--but that's what even the most clueless people see.

It would be easier to imagine MORRISSEY (who at least came out as "humansexual" with a girlfriend).

[Quote]if he was a brit no one cares if he going to bed with guys

This is not true at all. George Shelley talked a lot about being pressured to appear straight while he was in the boyband Union J. And that was despite already having a gay member. He thought two gay members would change the perception of the group and that he would jeapordize other people's careers. This was going on while he was out experimenting with guys. He was living a double life and he had anxiety over being outed.

Everyone please watch this. It's very interesting and can perhaps shed some light on the closeting that still goes on in the music industry.

It's quite surprising how honest he was about wanting to be famous. None of the "I want to make good music" stuff. Just his worst fear is not being famous. How pathetic. I felt somewhat sympathetic towards him before reading that interview, not so much now.

[quote] No wonder he was all messed up watching Bohemian Rhapsody. Freddie's story was like a slap in the face.

That's what I was thinking...I almost cried when it finished, more because of what you know it's gonna happen, because the movie doesn't touch his death, but it sounds like he was "all messed up" throughout the film, so probably a few things resonated with him. SPOILERS: I wonder how he felt on that scene of the press conference when everyone questioned Mercury about his sexuality...

Another sad thing I take from this interview is his disposition to try drugs. Ofc weed is mostly harmless, but I'm talking about the fact that he seemed so open to try the shrooms. You just know he'd take whatever else too. Thanks to Shawn's threads I started to get interested and know more about Mayer lmao, and he said he never did coke, LSD or other hard drugs because he's afraid it'd messed up with his head ( his addiction was alcohol) and he suffers of anxiety too so I can see how that could be true. I hope Shawn follow his lead on this too, otherwise he's setting himself up for disaster...

suffers *from not of

The most alarming revelation for me is that Love, Simon gave him a panic attack. How fucked up must you be if something that inoffensive needs to come with a trigger warning?

r270 He didn't have a panic attack because of the movie, it was because In My Blood was released that night

I didn't read the article. Why did Love Simon give him a panic attack?

R272 see 271.

R236 Not necessarily. Heterosexuality is so deeply conflated with 'true' masculinity that many straight guys are uncomfortable even threatened by being called gay. The word gay is often used in as an insult "stop being so gay" Lets just go on the assumption Shawn is straight (bahahahaha...sorry I had to laugh for a second) then he has some serious issues surrounding his masculinity. Perhaps he was picked on for being fem growing up and that has left some emotional/anxiety related scars. Let's get real that even in our somewhat more tolerant times, it's still not easy growing up gay. Also being from Toronto myself I can back up other posts that Pickering, where Shawn grew up, is a Conservative white trash cesspool and I believe his father is Bay street (Canada's Wall Street) business man so I wouldn't be surprised if his family is actually somewhat conservative.

Now, I'm open to the possibility that this article misrepresented what he said, but if that's the case Shawn and his people need to release a statement stating that. Otherwise his panic is indicative of someone going through a serious identity crisis. It could be that he still hasn't come to terms with his sexuality. Some people have said he's 20 he knows if he's gay by now but knowing if far different from accepting it. He was was 14 when he started in the business so I'm guessing that would hamper his ability to really develop on his own. It's likely he has been treated as a product by his management who have tried to shape and mold him to appeal to teenage girls.

So if he actually said these things he's 1) straight and slightly homophobic, 2) gay but in deep denial 3) he is struggling with gender identity issues.

Jesuschrist, he is not "struggling with gender issues", poster(s) who keep trying to make him trans 🙄

GUUURRRLLL I'm totally a SIS gendered male!

r276 So now a boy can't use a headband? have you ever watched a tennis match?

I don’t think he’s struggling with his sexuality at all. I think he knows full well that he’s gay, but he’s also (by his own admission) very ambitious and knows that’s his success is based on his looks and him being attractive to young girls (all over the world, not just in liberal west) not his talent.

[quote]SIS gendered

And they had no idea.

Grow up r276

[quote]I don’t think he’s struggling with his sexuality at all.

Me neither. It's just good old fashioned, cynical closetry to make a buck and maintain his fame. An age old story.

He knows his fanbase isnt just young girls -- a huge amount of his success/fanbase is people attracted to him because they think he's a gorgeous twink (both gay men + women/girls who obsess over gay boys)

My take on his interview: he's gay, knows it, but is deeply uncomfortable and conflicted about it and hasn't really accepted it yet. I think it goes beyond he's just staying closeted for the sake of his career. If you look at his pictures from yesterday, it's clear he had been crying so I believe him when he says he has anxiety issues.

For those of us old enough to remember, this reminds me of when Ricky Martin first came on the scene as a solo artist. His record company was very careful how they presented him and did everything they could to dispel any discussion about his sexual orientation. On the flip side, in the beginning he wasn't even allowed to show off his hairy chest since they thought that would be too much sexuality for his teenybopper fanbase. After a few years, you could see his record company loosened up and allowed him to be more sexually suggestive, but still not "gay". It was only later when he was more established and no longer at his peak did he publicly acknowledged he was gay.

I think Shawn panicked during the interview and went too far in his denials. His PR people should have rehearsed better responses to the inevitable questions about his sexual orientation so as not to offend either the fangurls or his gay fans.

No harm no foul now come here Bub and lets hug it out.

R284 Yup he said too much! If the gurl is gay, he's got some problems now. First, those who were offended by what he said are going to work harder at outing him e.g. catching him in the act. Yesterday we saw Toderick Hall posting a tweet that was a thinly veiled "gurl you gay" which he than was forced to take down because Shaun's fan girls got all defensive, also Billy Eichner posted a comment about the business not supporting its LGBT artists to make them feel comfortable being themselves. So, I don't know how long he'll be able to keep closeted. Second, when he comes out he's going to have to explain this interview.

Still not as bad as DL Faves Whitney Houston's homophobic denial statements or DiCaprio's

[quote] when he comes out he's going to have to explain this interview.

I don't think he'd have much problem, if Tyler The Creator could put his homophobic lyrics behind and was embraced by LGBT people Shawn, can absolutely do it. All he has to say is he was in the closet and he was dealing with his feelings, blah blah and that's it.

[QUOTE]was embraced by LGBT people

By some, not by all. Embraced by the types who take GLAAD awards seriously, perhaps, because they'll embrace anyone.

Not to take the thread off topic, but did he ever apologise for those lyrics, or did he come out with a non-apology apology?

[quote]Embraced by the types who take GLAAD awards seriously, perhaps, because they'll embrace anyone who isn't gay.

Fixed.

I never heard a Sean Mendes song

I'm pretty sure a lot of us posting here have never listened to his music r291. We aren't exactly his target demographic.

This is probably the best Shawn Mendes thread I’ve seen. A lot of thorough responses here. Sadly it seems Shawn is on the verge of a breakdown/meltdown. Doesn’t seem he can keep this all up for much longer.

Who is Shawn Mendes?

I think this is one of his better songs remix by Zed. Lost in Japan

R294 I don't know her.

Hope he's getting that ass in the studio with some hit-makers for his next album. he can have another semi-hit or at least make a well received record. and is he always touring its seems to be endless...

R150: Troye Sivan was mentioned not because he had an equivalent career but because Troye has in fact a career even when he came out before releasing his firs single. Troye music is not as commercial as Shawn's and he is not promoted the same way, so no they are not in the same league but that doesn't change the fact that he has a nice career.

Your comparision with Sam Smith on the other hand is completely wrong, Shawn has more screaming fangirls for sure, but that's the only thing he is over Sam. Sam sold more albums and more singles than Shawn. In fact Shawn is in a totally different league, the league of pop singers who are able to sell a lot of albums in this era, like Bruno Mars, Bieber or Ed Sheeran, even when he is music is not exactly what pop radio stations demand. Shawn is not even remotely there, and he won't be in the future either.

His pr team is incredibly inept, they almost kill his career at the beginning and they are so obsessed with present him as a hearthrob that they are going to ruin his chances of grow as an adult singer. The interview shows him as a vapid anxious guy who cares more about being perceived as straight (not going to happen) and being famous than someone who care about his music and his lyrics (which explain why most of his songs have cringeworthy lyrics). His career in the USA is on the rocks, his last album is a big faliure and he only got a semi decent hit with his first single. Yes, his career is not in danger because he is popular in a lot of countries, but one more flop and he will dissapear of US radio for a while and i don't think he can afford that.

So stop thinking on the way you cross your legs and start thinkin in making some decent music. Anyway, the interview didn't make him any favour and everbody could predict that but his team

R298 Great post

I was very very heterosexual once too.

Bieber became mega successful in his early career despite having no commercial hits. Shawn is already doing better than Bieber did. Plus, unlike Bieber, Shawn's music is popular among adults as well.

It's easy to say "stop thinking about crossing your legs" but these things are drummed into people. How many DLers have struggled with self esteem due to not measuring up to "manly" standards? I'm glad he owned up to those feelings.

It's good to come out, Shawn. I PROMISE.

R301: Radio refused to play Bieber's songs but he sold way more than Mendes, singles and albums. And i don't think Shawn has an adult fanbase. Yes his music is played in Adult contemporary radio stations because it fits the format, but he is not Adele, Bruno Mars or Sam Smith who had a large adult fanbase apart of a younger one

R302: The problem is exactly that he didn't owned those feelings and he better do because he is in fact effeminate and that won't change no matter if he is straight or gay.

And i don't get the comparissions with Ricky Martin. Ricky Martin never had those manierisms but people knew he was gay anyway. It was a totally different era and Ricky Martin team did him no favours the way they marketed him. He was a sex symbol, he was hot and he was promoted to be liked by women (and they really liked it, most of them still like him). With that type of career and at the beginning of the 00's a coming out would kill his career (that's not Mendes' case at all).

And i'm happy he didn't play Simon in the movie, it would be a terrible mistake

R302 I do agree that he was touching upon an issue that needs to be discussed more openly, that is toxic masculinity. The way he worded things was unfortunate and it appears like he's trying to play the victim card which is where a lot of the anger that is being directed towards him stems from. It's hard for many in the LGBTQ community to stomach the idea of a rich, white, [allegedly] heterosexual male being a victim because people are gossiping about his sexuality to the point he's waking up in cold sweats.

R298 a great post! I feel as though Shawn is more of a celebrity than he is a singer, if that makes sense. He has been groomed to be famous and there's not doubt he likes it and he wants to make last for a long as he can. He will not be name we talk about regularly in 5 to 10 years.

The best part of this whole thing, is reading all the fan girls tweets. He's not homophobic but he's victim because he's being called gay......

He's not effeminate. He's just gay. Same with how people could just tell with Ricky Martin, even though Ricky didn't fit any stereotype -- often you can just *tell*, which is what makes so many young gaylings so uncomfortable.

Shawn's not girly, he's just gay 🤷

R307; He is not girly but he has some manierism.

And yes, sometimes you just know other guy is gay no matter what.

What's the last coming out that what's really a surprise?

Shawn can still expand his music career after he comes out. He can be a video vixen for the many rappers that want to, work with him.

Look at how fellow closet case Hugh Jackman deals with it..."I'm not gay but thanks for the compliment"

So did he fuck a bartender or not?

R300 Ricky's lesbian beard is so masculine look at her arms! at least George Michael was very low key with Kathy

With his neurosis he'll be a drug addled tattoo covered mess in no time. Just live your life kid.

Shawn Mendes is just so gay George Michael was never even close to be as gay as him

Ricky's over the top bearding antics like the gif at R300 was the thing that revealed him as an obvious closet case not him being effeminate I don't think Ricky Martin and George Michael were ever effeminate

R217 Guilty as charged

R310 he's also a hundred years older than Shawn, and wiser.

R286 It doesnt matter actually. So many guys emphatically deny being gay. Pull the "Im offended because if I was gay, I would just say I was" Ian Thorpe got a virtual standing ovation after years of this exact thing. Same with Mark Foster, Wentworth Miller etc the list goes on and on and I cant be bothered to think of ex-closet cases. People quickly get 'over' all the things you have said in the past when you come out. Its a like a clean slate (rightly or wrongly).

My two cents. I dont think it was homophobic at all. Just poorly done. Very poorly done.

I don't think it was poorly done. I think in today's triggered society you have to avoid telling the truth or your real feelings. So people will be less open and honest in the future.

Why doesn't he says his part of the story if he think he was taken out of context or whatever? He knows that's exactly what he said and now him and his PR are throwing the magazine/journalist under the bus to save face. Whether RS was on it but management didn't like the reactions and now they're trying to blame this on them idk.

He'd soon crack up from all the pressure and either come out or go on a destructive path, we know he's not afraid to try drugs

*he'll

R266 this will be Shawn when he comes out down the road.

Shawn's response to the gay rumors, even back when he just starting out and posted that video of him crying that he was not gay, is an extreme reaction for someone who is supposedly straight. Yes, there are straight guys who are offended or get defensive when they are called gay, but typically the don't break down in tears about it or wake up in cold sweats. It's not just being in show business, there is clearly something in his background that taught him being gay is wrong (likely family given what others have said about Pickering Ontario being a conservative suburb of Toronto). Not only am I more convinced now that he's gay, but I've changed from he's just leading us on know that we know, to he is actually probably still in heavy denial.

In other threads about Shawn people that how could a 20 year old guy have issues about his sexuality in this day age but really it's naive to think that homophobia is no longer an issues for young people today.

Honest question, do you think fags like this would be come to Shawn's defense if he were black, or fat, or just generally unattractive?

He said nothing at all offensive. I couldn't care less if he's gay or not.

If this is an issue that upsets you, you're a real moron. Go get some air.

r322, honest question, if Shawn was very masculine and said these same things, would you be turned on by it?

The fact that he wanted to come off as this dudebro who loves the gym and weed and fucking bitches on tour, but all he did was sound like a whiny bitch it's just funny

r322 Wow Connor Franta, remember this video.

I can't help it, R325. I'm a whiny moany bottom...I mean...bitch...NO, heterosexual macho man. Why don't you believe me? *cries* x 10000000

Please guys tell me how big my "bulge" looks. I need your adoration so I can go to sleep tonight without smoking some weed like the heterosexual bro I am.

R314 have you seen a Wham video? I think GM came across way gayer than Shawn.

Although to be fair, I've never actually heard Shawn speak, only sing.

Here, an example r329

Fuck I linked the wrong video, but tbf both can count

I love my bruises, R331! They make me look like the super macho bro I know I am.

R326 omg I am cackling! hahaha. He of all people should know that guys deny being gay for years.

I have blocked basically half of the posters here claiming it was not homophobic. His fangirls are out of control trying to put the blame on the evil gays for daring to think Shawn might be gay. I'm sick of it. Sick of him catering to his homophobic fraus. Sick of him saying homophobic shit and us just having to accept it. Fuck this shit.

I have blocked basically half of the posters here claiming it was not homophobic. His fangirls are out of control trying to put the blame on the evil gays for daring to think Shawn might be gay. I'm sick of it. Sick of him catering to his homophobic fraus. Sick of him saying homophobic shit and us just having to accept it. Fuck this shit.

Sorry for the double post.

Shawn is either:

A) Straight and homophobic

B) Gay and suffering from internalized homophobia

Either whay what he said was definitely homophobic. I'm done caring about this pathetic closet case.

R337 he's not homophobic. His comments were reactions to external forces. Left alone, he wouldn't give a fuck.

Yeah, punish a guy for being honest and introspective.

Who here wasn't raised in a homophobic society? Even openly gay men fret about effeminacy. I'd rather someone admit to conflicted feelings than lie about it.

I'd wager many of us have encountered "I'm fine with homosexuality but I wouldn't want my son to be gay". It's a type of homophobia that doesn't receive much discussion or investigation.

R338 External forces? You mean us evil gays? Goodbye idiotic fangirl. I blocked you too.

Yes, people who just to conclusions about his sexuality contrary to what he says about it are partly to blame for his reaction. He doesn’t have to explain who he is or his identity to strangers or anyone else. Don’t presume who he is, especially based on Archaic stereotypes about sexuality and gender roles. Let him be who he wants to be.

I'M NOT GAY!!! SHAWN MENDES DENIES GAY RUMOURS after reading YouTube comments

another pathetic closet case is Michael B Jordan

Michael B. Jordan Responds To Gay Rumors

R341 Newsflash stupid fangirl: Speculating that someone is gay is NOT OFFENSIVE. Hence there is no reason to react the way he did. If he was comfortable in his sexuality he would have just laughed off the rumors and say he's flattered. But no, instead he went on this homophobic rant and now all his stupid homophobic fangirls like yourself are defending his rant and spewing even more homophobic shit. He made the situation much worse for himself.

The speculation about his sexuality centres around effeminacy. Even most out gays don't like to hear that they're effeminate.

He really should come out and just see how it goes. He can always go back in and say it was a phase (Aaron Carter, Jessie J, etc).

These straight guys like Shawn and Cameron Dallas who've never had real girlfriends amaze me. Cameron Dallas used to be best friends with gay pornstar Liam Riley before he became famous. But no he's straight too just like his buddy Shawn.

How to spot a fangirl on DL: Put the homophobic posters on ignore and look at their history. The homophobes have only posted on this thread, no other threads. They only care about Shawn.

Lmao you know they're fangirls when they start that shit about "archaic stereotypes" . Shawn is non binary guys!!!

[quote] people who just to conclusions about his sexuality contrary to what he says about it are partly to blame for his reaction. He doesn’t have to explain who he is or his identity to strangers or anyone else. Don’t presume who he is, especially based on Archaic stereotypes about sexuality and gender roles.

Tell that to my grandma who asks me if I have a gf every family dinner, the people who think I'm dating my female best friend when we go out together, some drunk chick flirting with me at some bar, cue me "having to explain my sexuality to others". The fact that the irony of coming to a gay board to say that is lost on you, just confirms you're some stupid fangirl

Good point r349 it's like if a guy who's semi famous and is involved in a stereotypically gay sport and has a heavy YouTube presence shows absolutely no interest in women and also followers a bunch of openly gay guys on social media all of a sudden marries a girl I assume his church set him up with less than a year after meeting her. I'm looking at you Steele Johnson.

R348 Right, it's the same with the Timothee Chalamet threads, was the same with the One Direction threads, etc. All these Tumblr fangirls trying to pretend they're DLers and yet only ever post in the fangirl threads. And so offensively galling when these twats start trying to lecture to gay men about homophobia and the like.

R349 Thank you! I His fan girls are saying that Shawn is upset that people are "pushing" a gay sexual identity on him. Oh, just like society pushing heterosexuality the default norm onto us all and forcing gay people to have to come out time and time again!

[quote]His fan girls are saying that Shawn is upset that people are "pushing" a gay sexual identity on him.

I dont think anyone here has said that. We are all pretty much in agreeance that he's not straight.

Press continues to defend his comments.

R353 go on Twitter and you'll see a large number of his fans girl saying that he was upset by people "assigning an identity on him."

It'll be very awkward when he comes out...

Author Chloe Govan says: “Jessie might have been with boys in the past — but she is 100 per cent gay. Jessie was openly lesbian and didn’t hide it.

“She was advised not to come out, though. Certain people thought being bi was trendy, exotic and a fashion statement. It would increase her allure.

“Being gay would alienate people. They knew how important image was and asked her to tone it down a bit.

R354 No one is claiming he’s ‘queer’, we’re claiming he’s gay. Because he is. Yes fangirls, gaydar is a thing. Not just based on stereotypes but also on how he interacts with other people etc. With some people, eg Tom Daley or Ian Thorpe, you can just tell, and Shawn is one of those people. Sorry but that’s just he say it is and all the so-called SJWs and journalists blaming gay men for pointing out the obvious are just perpetuating the closet.

Shawn’s pretty but he’s never going to be remembered for his musical talent. If he wants to actually be remembered for something he should come out and be the first teen idol type to come out at the height of their career rather than years later when they’re a hasbeen.

Lol fucking Franta. Hilarious. I love how he's blaming the anonymous internet for MAKING Shawn feel the need to be seen with girls or to jump up and down hissing how he's not gay. NOBODY made him do that. Connor feels strongly about this because he's been in the exact same place (oh uh except Shawn really is straight....) but COME ON. The truth is being a child star fucks with just about everyone of all orientation. If it wasn't his sexuality it would be a number of other things, and we'll probably still is a number of other things but the sexuality naturally takes precedence. He's always wanted to be famous and now he is by the strange twist of fate of a defunct six second video platform. In his rush to wishing to be famous he ignored the obvious pitfalls, and now he's blaming everyone but himself for them. Sure the money must be nice, but I don't know why anyone would want to actually be famous, for the sake of their mental health.

R350 oooh delightful Steele Johnson reference! I had forgotten all about that tragic tale but was obsessed with it thanks to DL around the Olympics. He used to say he wanted to get married but it would be awhile off, but then boom suddenly engaged to his long distance girlfriend of a few months. And we all know his diving partner had a role in this too, setting him up on the straight and narrow, which he knows well from experience.

He liked this picture on IG. I hope this boy is actually struggling with his sexuality and that's the root of all his mental/emotional issues, otherwise, if i's just for the fact that he doesn't want people to believe he's gay, then that's pathetic.

Kids are starving to death in Yemen but this rich privileged 'straight' star who can have anything or anyone he wants is boo-hooing because some people on the internet think he's gay.

I don't think you could find a less sympathetic figure.

If in a few years he comes out of the closet then I'll be willing to look back on this feel somewhat bad for him, but for know I think he's a narcissistic douche homophobe.

R360 Jeez, because kids are starving in Yemen and he's white and privileged he doesn't have the right to feel bad? Come on now. Astonished by the lack of empathy here.

Idk who this guy is but I agree completely with him

[quote] The more I think about the Shawn Mendes 'gay rumours' interview the more his reaction strikes me as selfish, toxic, diminishing and homophobic

[quote] God forbid that Shawn Mendes – as a straight man – should feel his image is so tarnished by being called gay that it makes him feel disturbed and "sick"

[quote] AND in the interview he seems far more concerned about the impact these rumours have on his celebrity image, but he's masking it as having a personal toll. So, so cynical. URGH.

Empathy for what?

That people think he's....gay?

Why is that a bad thing for people to think of him?

The i'm not gay video didn't debunk the gay rumours so i don't know what make him think that giving an interview will be different. The only difference is that he was able to avoid backlash on the youtube video (the number of people who denied being gay on youtube to come out years later is not small).

The interview goes beyond his issues with being perceived as gay and feminine, he seems a self obsessed narcissist more interested in fame than in music. And there's so much fakeness (from the i smoke weed to Haley and i were in a relationship bullshit) that makes difficult to believe that his pr didn't stop this.

I don't get the comparission with Ian Thorpe, in that case i can understand the pressure. He was a national hero, the best swimmer of the world and all being a teen. Curiosly he is probably the best example of how good can be coming out. He was a guy flirting with disaster, i think most people thought he could have a tragic ending, but he came out and he looks good and even better, he looks happy

Of course if Thorpe and other cases say saomething is that gays had a tendency to forget all the denying after coming out. In fact people tend to treat the deniers way better than the openly gay singers, actors, who came out at the beginning of their career taking risks.

In my opinion what he did was the equivalent of Disney stars trying to look edgy with sexy music videos or risky characters on films, and failing spectacularly on the attempt

It's disheartening to the see the number of gaylings supporting him on twitter! Seriously, you're telling me the white, rich, attractive, 'straight' guy is a victim because people think he might be gay....good god! Likes others have said, if he were ugly they would be trashing him left and right.

The more he protests the more i think he's gay

It is amazing how much people do forget. The sheer denial of Ian thoroe is this tiny thing in the past, indeed was never really brought up hugely at the time of his coming out. He claimed to be OFFENDED that people thought he was gay because if he was gay, he would be open about it. R357 Well I guess 'queer' could be used in this context. Claiming gaydar on Tom Daley (me too), but Tom doesnt identify as gay, so 'queer' probably is better here. Only a few weeks ago tom was on the radio talking about growing up; not as gay, but as how he felt it was wrong to have feelings for guys and GIRLS.

Many of his naive girl fans are saying that he's being called homophobic because he denied being gay.

R368: I think Iam Thorpe got in fact more backlash than he really deserved. He was not one of those cases that after years of being offended by gay rumours decided to come out to get back to the spotlight. He was spiraling to a very sad end, his internalized homophobia made him sink to a very low place. In my opinion he was a victim of his success, he started to lie because he was 15 and obviously not ready to come out and he was unable to stop.

He even has a straight autobiography. But i think people understood that he was his worst enemy, that his homophobia almost killed him, so they are not so harsh on him anymore. He is one of the best swimmers of all time and he paid a prize for his lies. Fortunately now his in a way better place.

I don't think Shawn had the same pressure, not even remotely. Anyway, people will forgive him and made excuses for him because he is a nice guy (or at least he pretends to be a nice guy, frankly i don't know anymore). Unfortunately for him, the gay rumours won't go away even if he finds a girlfriend or marry her and he probably will get another melt down in a near future

Shawn Mendes is under more pressure than Ian Thorpe. He's a teen pop star (who's 20, I know). He can't keep his head down like an athlete. He came to fame on social media. The glare of the media is much more intense nowadays. It's no longer just print or broadcast media.

It's interesting how selective some are in who they give a break. Is Thorpe forgiven simply because he's actually gay? We need to see physical suffering (even death?) before we take a celebrity's words seriously? It's ok to police someone's mannerisms if they have straight privelege, along with fame and fortune?

I'd bet there are people posting here who were viciously bullied for mincing down the school hallway or for screaming when Diana's death was announced. But words on the internet don't matter, huh? Good luck telling that to anyone Mendes' age, raised on the internet.

R371: That's pure bullshit. He lives in a world with a lot less homophobia than the sports world. Being perceived as gay didn't affect his career at all.

And if Mendes is really straight what's exactly his fucking problem? that some random guys on internet think he is gay?

At least Thorpe struggling was real, Shawn if he is not lying is simply a self absorbed guy obsessed with what others think of him

R371 Well Ian Thorpe was a teen superstar at the time. Indeed his mannerisms were critqued more becuase he was so effeminate while being an athlete. And this is 20 years ago, in Australia, backwater bogan central. There was actual, more homophobia that he experinced than shawn. So Ian had it worse I am afraid.

Thorpe was a national hero in Australia. He is still considered one of the best swimmers of all time.

He was questioned about his sexuality at 15. Twenty years ago.

Look at the radio charts twenty years ago and you will not find a single openly gay singer

There's no comparission possible.

Harry Styles face the same type of rumours, he is a bigger star than Shawn and he is perfectly able to deal with the rumours without sound like a douchebag. yes, he has a tendency to gay baiting but that's all

How is it pure bullshit? Teen popstars are marketed based on their sex appeal. Thorpe did not have that experience.

Showbiz may be "less homophobic" but it's ALL money focused. And gay is not considered marketable.

I was right then. If Mendes is gay, all will be forgiven. The struggle against restrictive standards of masculinity don't apply to him, I guess. Because he "has everything".

R375; Do you seem to not understand that the gay rumours didn't affect Shawn's career at all. He faced gay rumours from the beginning of his career but that didn't stopped him to have success. The gay rumours remain the same after the youtube video, so doing this is not only a waste of time but a very bad idea.

Shawn doesn't live in a toxic masculinity enviroment, Thorpe developed his career twenty years ago (the world was way less accepting). You just count the number of openly gay pro athletes and you should understand that it's not the welcoming even now

R376: You can be "ugly" and gay and have success. And nobody asked him to come out. He simply overreacted at what people told about him on internet. Now the internet continues to say he is a closet case but they think he is homophobic too, now he gets two by the prize of one. Good job

I'm a little tired of people being that comprehensive with actors and singers bearding. I don't mind if they are pressured or not, they do it because they are greedy in most of cases. You can have a career being openly gay, but even if you don't want to risk, you can live in the glass closet for a good while. Bearding is pathetic and Shawn is not even good at that

Ian Thorpe certainly had a struggle but he was not marketed as a sex symbol.

15. Ok. What age was Mendes whe made that denial video? And Shawn Mendes is international.

It seems we're devolving into Oppression Olympics.

Harry Styles is not a bigger star. He's underperformed as an act.

So gay baiting is better than admitting to struggling with standards of masculinity?

R372 Why do we even have to compare Shawn to Thorpe, saying one has a the right to feel pressured, doesn't mean the other one can't. Everyone deals with it in a different way, not everyone's strong enough to not let it affect them. Agree with R371. 20 years ago, in a time without social media. Maybe it hasn't affected his career, but you can't tell me the constant stream of comments would not get to a lot of people at some point. Shawn's said before in that earlier vid it's not about saying he's gay, but it's often used towards him as an insult. Like it's a bad thing. Of course not by us, but the general public still does. I've lost count on the times I've seen the general public say they don't like him/listen to him because he sounded too gay, his mannerisms are too effeminate etc.

381 replies? seriously?

R380 Shawn was 17 at the time of that vid. He started when he was 14, getting international attention when he was 15.

Mendes seems much more "under the thumb" than Harry Styles, who has long had friends like Nick Grimshaw as an influence and sounding board. Mendes probably has more in common with the likes of DL fave David Archuleta.

Did gay rumours affect Ian Thorpe's career? He's a swimming legend in Australia, is he not?

Does someone's career have to be negatively affected to justify their discomfort with speculation and scrutiny of their effeminacy?

I hope he drowns in that hot water.

Nobody asks him to come out? No, they demand it, with gifs and twitvids and memes. The scrutiny on people like Thorpe wasn't incessant like that.

If he was really straight (or smart) he wouldn't say something as stupid "I need to go be seen with someone — like a girl — in public, to prove to people that I’m not gay"

Someone LIKE a girl? As opposed to what? A Canadian? If anyone should have a girlfriend in Canada, it would be Shawn Mendes if he were straight.

And if he needs to "get" one and parade her in public to "prove" something, that's just it – he has something to prove that his own life isn't providing.

Sounds self-loathing to me.

His pr team did a mess. Why not copy the id interview of Timothee Chalamet and Harry and pontificate on a new masculinity that avoids the toxic? Now he is seen as a self loathing homosexual. Great job pr team.

By the time Mendes comes out his career will be in the shitter and we won't even care anymore

The reason I give Mendes a hard time over this is because his explanation makes no sense!!

It just doesn't ring true that this 100% hetero star is crumbling over people thinking he's gay. I mean look, people of all orientations worry about what people think about them, that's not odd in itself, but nothing about his reaction seems to be like a straight young man faced with gay rumors.

His story doesn't fit and he knows it. He's straight and likes girls, but has never been with one except a furtive one night stand in front of a reporter. He could date anyone he wants, and while yeah it's hard to pick because lots of people would want him just because he's Shawn and I acknowledge that must be very stressful, it has managed to keep him from never being seen with anyone, thus accelerating those unfortunate gay rumours.

In fact he doesn't even give that as the reason though. Shawn Mendes, who in the same story is giving a few moments to each and every individual fan he encounters, is unable to date anyone because he "doesn't have game". Which yeah, he does seem pretty stiff, but why would he need "game" to meet girls? None of this makes sense.

The most likely explanation to me is that he's gay/conflicted, but can't/wont't admit it, and for whatever reason refuses to beard (which I respect), and yet he literally gave an interview describing what amounted to his decision not to beard. So he needs an explanation for the lack of girls and paints a picture of himself of a pathetic little straight boy oppressed by gay rumors who lacks the proper social skills to approach "cuties" on the beach, even though he spends time meeting and socializing with fans constantly, and just being Shawn Mendes

I think he's tremendous!

Now he just needs to declare his penis a white supremest and join the rest of us among the master race.

Homophobic remarks? Just claim you were misunderstood and go on Ellen; all will be forgiven!

r358 I had forgotten that they were long distance. LOL I remember looking at Steele's social media before he started dating and was surprised at how gay it was. None of the straight guys I know follow any gay guys. Not because of homophobia but because their interested in good looking women.

[quote]I think he is gay but perhaps still in the "it's a phase," or "I'm bisexual" stage of coming out.

Yes, it's possible that Shawn thinks he is telling the truth. Maybe he thinks he is straight and has genuinely had a few relationships with girls.

Maybe he isn't out to himself yet, or is bi.

If Shawn was so confused then why is he traveling all over the world with Zac( I forget his last name) Zac's picture has been posted on this thread a few times.

[quote]Pickering, where Shawn grew up, is a Conservative white trash cesspool and I believe his father is Bay street (Canada's Wall Street) business man so I wouldn't be surprised if his family is actually somewhat conservative.

If Shawn's' family is conservative, why is he a big Justin Trudeau supporter?

r398 They didn't "travel the world together" he was at the Australian leg of the tour and then just hang out whenever they're at the same place. I honestly see the twins as some kind of famewhores, they always have to post something whenever they're with Shawn...

R400 Yeah, after the Australian leg and New Year's Eve, they maybe hung out 5 or 6 times in the past year, sometimes with 3 or 4 months in between of not seeing each other. The one that's been traveling along in the past year is Brian, one of Shawn's high school friends. Also get the feeling the twins are famewhores.

r401 Brian does seem like an obnoxious straight frat boy kinda type though

Zac if you are watching, you know what's up.

r396 Both Steele and wife looks so depressed and unhappy now, they look like they must all their energy to try to smile.

Look Shawn, if you are not straight, you could look this happy in married life

Look there are still 20-somethings (and older) who won't come out because they think they'll be rejected and being accepted is something they need. Gay kids that grow up in gay friendly households and cities fear some of that rejection but not in the same way.

People like Mendes are not pop stars because they're artists. They're craving fame and popularity. He seems like he's going through the same thing young gay / bi / questioning guys go through who are also popular and thrive on it and are therefore desperate to prove they can pass as straight, deny themselves gay sex, live a secret life ... whatever.

But I can't believe any straight guy would he needs to go out and public and find someone "like a girl" to prove something. He would've just done it by now, dated and "broken up".

Or just find Taylor Swift...

r405 You know he's hopelessly gay when instead of bearding Taylor Swift did his makeup..

She's the last one to know.

I know Zac isn't literally with Shawn all the time but considering the fact that he has nothing to do with the music industry. Why is he with him at all. I'm sure there are plenty of ugly guy he could hang out with as just friends. I remember when Bieber was hanging out with all of these "best friends" every last one of them was a light skin black guy who was cute. People have a "type" for people they want to date not for people they want to be friends with.

r408 Because they're friends? or maybe fuck buddies at most

And really am i the only one who actually believes Bieber is straight?

Straight woman here (sorry) and I know Shawn is gay. He doesn't have the energy (i.e. needy/selfish/sexual) towards women that hot young straight guys have. He just doesn't. Which, yes, it what makes him attractive to girls.

Justin Bieber: that's a straight guy.

His fan girls are ridiculous. I responded to a comment on twitter about why I felt his statements were homophobic and the response I keep getting is, people are calling him homophobic only because he said he wasn't gay....give me a break!

r411 Yeah, you're just wasting your time with them. I've seen a lot of them, especially on IG also saying they'll always love him 'no matter what', so even if he were straight out homophobic they'll find some excuse, or really not care probably...

What the fuck is "In the back of my heart"?

r413 ???

There are a shocking number of young gay guys defending him...seriously they wouldn't care if he were not white, rich and reasonably attractive.

That photo of him on the RS cover is not flattering at all...makes him look horsey.

While I treat blind items with a pinch of truth, this is allegedly about him

R381: Harry Styles sold way more albums than Shawn, and all that without a radio hit and with a non radio friendly album. he is a way bigger star than Shawn, in fact he is considered a talented musician by critics (and of course he was on one of the most popular bands of the decade, very far from Shawn's popularity).

Shawn is in a similar position of Madonna on the early 90's, he is way more popular than successful as singer (not a fair comparission because Madonna even in her bad days was way more successful than Shawn's will ever be)

So is Shawn more like a social media celeb?

R419; No, iven he started on Vine he has a nice career and he is popular in a lot of countries, but he is way more popular than successful. He had several pop hits, but the sales of his albums are poor in comparission of what pop stars really sell.

I find really surprising that there's so many people defending him. The pressure of being perceived as gay can be annoying but nothing more if you are not really gay.

And he is very wrong if he thinks his manierisms are the ones that make people believe he is gay, George Michael was not effeminate and people know it.

I don't understand why he put himself in this hole. He did a youtube video denying rumours and nobody believe him, why expect it would be different this time. Well, it was in fact different because the first time he didn't seemed a douchebag

What is your first language R420

Greyson Chance is just as good looking as Shawn and is really talented as well. Chance has already come out. Hope he can prove those haters who say you can't have a successful career if you come out wrong.

R421: Thank you for being polite. I know my english sucks

R423 it doesn't suck, there are just some tells, is all. Past tense needs some work. Good luck!

Greyson looks gayer

R425 Do fuck off you homophobic frau cunt.

I didn't say Bieber was gay r409 I said it was weird that he had a specific type of guy as far as looks that he hu g out with.

Flirty...like me. *wink wink*

Grayson is actually more masculine than Shawn. He sounds like Barry White when. He talks Lol. Ok I'm exaggerating but he does have a very deep voice

Shawn’s lips were made to be wrapped around a dick.

[430] Say what? Didn't hear you

[Quote] Straight male actors are shipped together in fan fiction, and those actors don't seem to mind at all.

Some of them do care and don't like it.

R432: But they are smart enough to not make a fuss about it. Making a big deal of something generally carries an Streisand effect with it

And i understand them not liking it (not only gay fiction but straight fiction too). Real people fan fiction is creepy. One think is fan fiction about fictional characters (canon or non canon) and other very different about real people, i suppose it's uncomfortable to read that

R393 refuses to beard (which I respect)

didn't he beard with Justin Bieber's on and off beard Selena Gomez?

[Quote] Justin Bieber's on and off beard Selena Gomez?

LOL

[quote]He doesn't have the energy (i.e. needy/selfish/sexual) towards women that hot young straight guys have.

You're probably right, but could you explain in more detail what you mean by the selfish sexual "energy" that straight guys have?

R436 omg YES i can. You're not female, I assume?

Boys grow up being told in a million ways that women are their reward for succeeding as men, the quality of their women is the measure of their worth as a man, and women - like mommies - are there to take care of them & make them feel better.

Which makes straight young men fucking assholes towards women, whether overtly or subconsciously.

No, I'm definitely not female. I'm a gay guy, so I'm not that familiar with straight male sexual psychology.

I guess you're basically saying that straight males have an attitude of entitlement towards women?

And that Shawn doesn't display the typical signs of that?

I'm surprised he got away with such a poor beard attempt with that Baldwin chick. He didn't even try and her ass quit and shacked up quick with Bieber.

Yeah, it's a bit embarrassing for Shawn that she ended up with Bieber so fast.

R436 It's neediness, more so than entitlement. They NEED women's bodies for sex. They NEED women's caring for emotional closeness (emotional labor). They NEED women's interest to confirm they're worthwhile men.

Shawn is so needy as it is, yet he utterly lacks this need for women to cry out his feelings to, women to fuck.

I think a lot of times we as gay men forget how much straight guy love women and love sex with women. Shawn Mendes is gay. Every interaction he has regarding women seems forced and difficult because it is. For Straight guys its easy, it's the easiest thing in the world to them, it comes naturally to them because they're STRAIGHT!

Millennials have plenty of gay/fluid/queer/non straights to look up to, from actors from their favorite tv shows (like half the cast of 13 Reasons Why and many Greg Berlanti CW shows) to Sam Smith and Ezra Miller. Whatever, the kid wants to be in the closet, fine, but his fear makes no sense today. Girls ship straight characters from movies and TV shows, writing long fan fiction on they making out with each other, Harry Potter has entire fanfic sites devoted to his same sex life with the ginger kid. I'm under the impression some people working in Hollywood are too old school to understand the new generations and what they like. Once they retire this will be a thing of the past.

The fear & frustration makes sense. Shawn's at the gay stage of "why does this have to define me?" He's frustrated and sad and scared and upset because he's thinking how unfair it is that if he were straight, his sexuality would've never even come up as a topic of discussion for 5 years. He's achieved his dream of becoming a successful singer/celebrity, but he can barely enjoy it because he doesn't want to be "Shawn Mendes, gay star" he wants to be "Shawn Mendes, star". Lots of us have been there when we were college aged like him, whatever our professions.

^ YES. The whole, everyone's always going to think of me as "the gay guy" before they think of me as ME, thing.

That probably explains why a lot of other celebrities and actors we discuss on this board are still reluctant to tell the public they are gay.

[Quote] Girls ship straight characters from movies and TV shows, writing long fan fiction on they making out with each other, Harry Potter has entire fanfic sites devoted to his same sex life with the ginger kid.

I feel like that's a small portion of fans though.

I think some gay people overstate the changes in popular culture and acceptance. Would Sam Smith have a harder time of it from his management if he were "hot" and thus potentially marketable as a crush to women? Ezra Miller dresses up in his little outfits for events but his admissions re same sex experiences are almost chaste, demure - a far cry from his customary verbal expression. There are still constraints put on those who are "family".

In the back of my heart I know that I was made for dick sucking.

[quote]I think some gay people overstate the changes in popular culture and acceptance.

True.

If things had changed as much as some people claim, there wouldn't be hundreds of celebrities still in the closet.

I actually think we're "going backwards" in this aspect, I mean artists like Bowie, Mercury, Elton, etc . were pretty accepted decades ago and not only that, but they went on to become legends. But now a less significant pop star can't come out for fear of losing his career?

(I gotta clarify though that I'm 26 y.o so I don't fully know how exactly were they perceived back then, but is just the way I see it)

R451 It shows that you are 26. Mercury was never out...Elton's career nosedived for a long time after coming out before he had success off the back of a popular movie (lion king). Bowie never dated men (atleast publicly). So his 'bisexuality' was merely an odd performance piece/character really. Indeed he took it back and said he was straight.

Obviously there have been certain big changes over the past couple decades.

Homosexuality was decriminalized.

Gay marriage has been legalized, which no one thought possible.

More politicians, celebrities and actors have come out.

However, there are still many, many actors and celebrities that are in the closet and reluctant to talk about being in a same-sex relationship.

Not only are there no A-list actors that are out, but even many of the lesser known actors are still not out.

Didn't Bowie say that identifying as bisexual was his biggest mistake. I believe it was a Playboy interview. He never hit in the US like he did in the UK.

As mentioned, Mercury wasn't out. Didn't the draggy "I Want to Break Free" receive a frosty response in the US?

It sort of beggars belief but Boy George making a quip at the Grammys about being a drag queen went down like a lead balloon. The culture was oddly Don't Ask, Don't Tell, even with someone like Boy fucking George.

People point to Dusty Springfield coming out as bisexual in a 1970 newspaper interview. It did her no good. I've read two lines mentions of new singles in 1980s newspaper clipping that found space to make innuendos about her sexuality. Her struggles during this time were not merely "self inflicted" or a result of undiagnosed bipolar. The mainstream was less than welcoming.

Thank you all for your explanations! Sad to think we still have a long way to go then

Until male homosexuality is no longer associated with effeminacy or non-masculinity, very few men will want to be personally identified with it. The fem stigma is one of the biggest stigmas in the world.

Shit r456 you have gay porn performers who don't want to be considered gay. Fucking gay porn performers!

R393 Nailed it.

[Quote]The most likely explanation to me is that he's gay/conflicted, but can't/wont't admit it, and for whatever reason refuses to beard (which I respect), and yet he literally gave an interview describing what amounted to his decision not to beard.

[Quote]So he needs an explanation for the lack of girls and paints a picture of himself of a pathetic little straight boy oppressed by gay rumors who lacks the proper social skills to approach "cuties" on the beach, even though he spends time meeting and socializing with fans constantly, and just being Shawn Mendes

Yep, and the word “gay” has been tainted with extremely feminine or nonmainstream connotations such as being into divas, showtunes, girly fashion, sassiness, drag queens and mimicking women, and not fitting in with male peers.

We've made advances but the business community is still going to cater to the 90% of the world that identifies as straight. As much as we don't like it if straight girls aren't interested in Mendes his career goes down the shitter quick. Saying we've gone backwards compared to Elton John or Bowie speaks more to how cookie cutter the acts are today and how agents and managers had less control of stars of the 70's or 80's

R447: It's not that small, in fact i think the ones who will give up on him if he comes out are the small part of his fandom.

Most girls nowadays don't give a shit about who is dating his idol because most of them don't have the desire to marry them like it was so usual 20 or 40 years ago. Of course there are girls who have fantasies about his idol, but most of them overcome that without any problem.

For actos is tough because if you ask any manager they will come with the old bullshit that an actor has to keep the mistery to be believable. I guess that's only for gay actors because if you look at the list of best paid actors you will find that most of them had all their lives totally exposed on magazines and people seem to not have a problem to believe in their acting.

Unfortunately it's not the new generation the one that rules the business and they apply the old rules, and there's a reason why there are so many people bearding and on fake relationships (even the straight ones) which is something extremely pathetic.

The problem is most people start their careers very young, and once you lie it's difficult to come back to be true to yourself.

There are some people who are totally comfortable in the closet but for others it's a very unhealthy experience, that's the reason why some of them are so over the top once the come out and everything revolves around their sexuality.

If Shawn is gay (and i think he is obviously gay) he is in a very bad place. One think is have an exterior conflict, thinking that coming out will destroy your career, or people you love won't accept you. But once you come out you overcome that quite easily because never it's so bad as you imagine and in the end you are not in conflict with yourself. Shawn seems to hate himself, and that's way more difficult to solve. It's not like he is not ready to come out, he is not ready to accept he is gay. That's very dangerous and even more if he flirts with drugs

So there are rumors he is racist now too.

R462, but what about all the BBC? Does that count for nothing?

R462: Are there racist rumours too? i didn't heard anything.

It would be the ice on the cake of a disastrous week.

No ones going to remember this by the next week, but since he has this little buzz going. drop a new song

Thing is even if you take out the gay aspect, he stills seems deeply unpleasant. Obsessed with fame, and just fame - not about being an artist, but just having the fame. Obsessed to the point that he searches his own name on social media and has made a rule to never say no to a selfie and so on. I think he thought admitting all that would make him seem adorably neurotic, but it just shows how utterly shallow he is.

R466. Maybe he was tired of being the nice guy and decided looking like a jerk was better.

The interview is very problematic not only for his obvious self hate and the subtles displays of homophobia. He seems a vapid narcisist and some parts (the weed smoking, the hailey comments) look incredibly fake like a futile attempt to look edgy.

I still think he could say almost the same without looking so unpleasant. When you are going to say things like that you should better think what's the best way to put that in words

I think the posters who suggested the writer didn't particularly like Shawn and so there was some snark in the article were right. And that's probably what tips the scales - they thought they had a sympathetic writer who'd sand down the edges and make it a puff piece but one to get him some edge, instead they got snark. And then tried to fuck the writer over because of it.

r468 Maybe the writer could see right thru the fakeness? I'm personally sick of puff piece entertainment journalism.

R453 Not only are there no A-list actors that are out

Is Kristen Stewart A-List?

When you are an actor you are competing for the roles and we know some people in positions of power have some narrow views about that.

I think the main changes is the fact that after coming out your career is not dead like in the past. Most actors who came out in recent years continue their career the same way.

For a singer the thinks changed even more. 15 years ago it was almost impossible to find an openly gay singer in a top 40 chart. Right now is not so rare. It's true that Sam Smith is probably the only one A list, but it's getting better

Anyway coming out is not the question here. Nobody expected him to come out right now (not even in the following years). It's the fact that he sees being gay in such negative light what irked so many people (apart of the fakeness and the ego he shows on the interview)

When actors come out they only get gay roles KStewart and Whishaw are great examples for this

It definitely reeks of internalized homophobia. I should know.

I think he is a try hard-- tries hard to be edgy (with the drugs), tries hard to play with the big boys/girls of music though he has little talent (John Mayer, Tracy Chapman, people with real talent).He will be a flash in the pan, whether he comes out or not.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

[quote]So there are rumors he is racist now too.

What racist rumors are those?

Here's the video of Shawn losing his temper at a guy:

R475 Shade upon shade...

Lmao he better brace himself , the jokes are just about to become worse

That's the problem with denying it in such a way that it then becomes a subject for fair comment. Shawn "definitely not gay" Mendes.

Guys, it has been a hard week. I got robbed....they took what was left of my ass. *cries* x1000000

r480 Yeah he's going to become a meme once again

That scarf isn't helping, either.

R469 I think most of the writers can see through it, it just depends whether they're going to play the game or not. And this writer didn't, though not in a Tom Hiddleston-GQ type way, but just enough.

It doesn't help that the people around him sound just as awful too:

[QUOTE]Justin Stirling, his 25-year-old head of marketing, speaks up. “All Shawn has to do is open up his Instagram DMs, see all the blue check marks and choose,” he says. “But it doesn’t happen often.”

Having your head of anything be 25 years old should be a warning sign. But having one who talks like that...no wonder they thought this would be a good idea.

I just hope the writer gets pissed at the way Shawn and his team are trying to suggest he lied, and ends up posting the audio he recorded to prove he didn't make anything up.

[quote]“All Shawn has to do is open up his Instagram DMs, see all the blue check marks and choose,” he says. “But it doesn’t happen often.”

What does this mean?

DMs mean direct message.

Basically there are tons of people trying to talk to Mendes, and he could just pick out the cuties among them and have as much sex as he wanted.

So you can send DM's to celebrities on Instagram even if they don't follow you?

Who the fuck are the idiots posting on here, who somehow found their way to Datalounge yet are unfamiliar with the modern internet?

Blue check marks means celebrity accounts, idiots

You can send a DM to whoever the fuck you want. Whether they read your shit, well. Go try your luck fantards.

r489 But it explicitly says "blue check marks" that means famous people/celebrities

Half of Hollywood is gay

Yes we know R490 thank you for explaining 🙄

Shawn needs to contact Ariana Grande for advice on handling this.

His team is obviously worthless.

[quote][R462]: Are there racist rumours too? i didn't heard anything.

[quote]It would be the ice on the cake of a disastrous week.

It would probably garner him a new group of fans.

There's Something Strange Happening With Shawn Mendes

Sorry but i highly doubt any femaly celebrity want seriously to fuck with him. He is cute and all that, but everybody knows dating him will mean she'll be branded as his beard and unless you are a professional beard that's not what a singer or actress that lives from her work want.

He is cute but he is bland and his personality doesn't seem interesting at all. Even his nice persona is affected by the crappy interview

fuck him (not with him)

These are the racist rumors someone was talking about, shit he said in the past but anyway

A singer or an actor is expossed, everyone have an opinion on them and their work so it's not rare to be insecure. But he looks incredibly unatractive in that interview, so full of himself and obsessed with fame. Of course with a more elaborate discourse he could basically say the same without irritate so many people.

The Élite cast made an interview playing fuck, marry, kill. All of the male cast chose fuck or marry with the male characters of the show. I think that would be difficult to find with american actors but it was refresing not taking youself so seriously or overthink if someone somewhere is going to think you are gay because of it

The truth is that Shawn is disgusted by gay men. He hides it well for the mighty $$$. It's called queerbaiting. He doesn't even have a gay face.

R500, you’re nuts.

Shawn is straight. I don't get any queer vibes from him.

[quote] He doesn't even have a gay face.

[quote] Shawn is straight. I don't get any queer vibes from him.

Oh great, fangirls are here again (this is both the same person btw)

R503 LOL, gay men are so delusional. Always, lusting after straight men because they are disgusted by gay faces. I am not even a fan of his bad music. To me, he's a typical, mild-mannered, straight, fellow Canadian, who is more ambitious than talented. That's why I'm not surprised by his boring, queerbaiting ploy with womanizer, John Mayer. John Mayer used to play instruments in the background for other performers so he could stay relevant in the 2000's.

John Mayer is not a womanizer he's a closet case

Mountain meet molehill.

R504: Frankly, if he were really straight this interview wouldn't happened.

If he were straight he would be with a girlfriend from time to time or at least a hook up, so the rumours wouldn't bother him that much.

The problem is he is not straight, or likeable like he seemed to be

I'd love to be privy to the conversations in his team while planning this interview. It's such an own goal in more ways than one, a massive case of what-the-hell-were-they-thinking error of judgment. How could they have thought this would help in any way? Or did Mendes actually go rogue during the interview?

[quote]Or did Mendes actually go rogue during the interview?

I think he went rogue... just like he did during the planned Hailey Baldwin bearding arrangement.

I think that' the problem when your team is made for very similar people, they see thing the same way so they are unable to see the problems at all.

They probably though the interview would give him an adge and they wipe away the gay rumours (frankly if his video didn't i don't know why they expect this to do better).

At the end he came across as a whiny narcisist.

[QUOTE]I'd love to be privy to the conversations in his team while planning this interview

"Bro, and then you'll take the pretty girl up to your hotel room, and we'll make sure the writer sees"

"A girl? To my room?...."

R507 He used to do a lot of interviews in Canada when he was first starting out in his career. I never got a "gay vibe" from him. He came off as soft-spoken, candid and laid-back but unpolished. He is the son of a Portuguese immigrant parent and is from a small town in Ontario. That's why I'm not surprised by his interview at Rolling Stone. He was just being his old, candid, Canadian self.

The following is an excerpt of the Rolling Stone interview where he clearly said that he's not gay.

"Last Christmas, he was reading YouTube comments about his sexuality when he decided he’d had enough. “I thought, ‘You fucking guys are so lucky I’m not actually gay and terrified of coming out,’ ” he recalls now. “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?”

So he recorded a frantic Snapchat story. “I noticed a lot of people were saying I gave them a ‘gay vibe,’ ” he told his millions of followers, sounding a little choked up as he stared wide-eyed at the camera. “First of all, I’m not gay. Second of all, it shouldn’t make a difference if I was or wasn’t.”

Here's a clip of a Canadian perspective of his interview at the Rolling Stone.

[QUOTE] I never got a "gay vibe" from him

R512: My favourite superhero is Beyonce because she is faaaboulous.

He only needed an unicorn and a rainbow to make it gayer that video. Probably the gayer 6 seconds ever.

It's pretty obvious that for him it makes a huge difference if people think he is gay or not.

He made a video some time ago saying he was not gay, people didn't believe him what made him think this time things will be different. The fact that he did it looking like a jerk?

He only got a pass because he is cute and had that nice and polite image, but the interview is hideous and in more than one way. It's not only the obvious latent homophobia, is his ego, his narcissism, his constant need of validation and his fakeness.

r513 That is damning evidence, he sounded like Adam Rippon.

R504 He dated a Canadian girl named Lauren back in Canada for a few years. Her photo is shown below.

R513, R514 Most young Canadian guys are metrosexuals nowadays. They wear skinny jeans and scarves partly because of the cold Canadian weather and partly to look cool. They are not the same as American hillbillies.

R507 Here's another picture of his ex-girlfriend, Lauren, wearing his hoodie. They dated for 2 years. He kept the relationship out of the spotlight to protect her privacy.

Gee i wonder why she moved on?

R518 Probably because of his travelling and she didn't want to be in a long distance relationship.

[QUOTE]but the interview is hideous and in more than one way. It's not only the obvious latent homophobia, is his ego, his narcissism, his constant need of validation and his fakeness.

Ain't that the truth. That's why his fangirls are in a tough place, because they need to keep everything focused on the gay stuff, because otherwise people will start talking about the other unpleasant stuff in that interview.

Do we really have a Canadian homophobe trying to convince us he doesn't even seem gay? Surely must be a troll?

r519 Oh sure she dropped Shawn Mendes because of a long distance relationship. Sure Jan meme

R520 I'm just stating the facts. Sorry, to burst your bubble.

R522: What bubble? after revealing being a big jerk straight people can keep him forever and ever

Is the Canadian troll Shawn himself? You're not convincing anyone darling

Our Canadian, r517, r519, r522 is such a fucking loon.

You have pictures of this girl and yet he was protecting her privacy. Big success!!!

Mendes says he needs to find someone "LIKE a girl" (HA!) and yet – all he had to do was share these pictures as quickly as the Canadian troll.

It doesn't add up, dumb ass.

I second R523. It's very likely that "Canadian" is Shawn himself. Lol Shawn. You're fooling no one. Hope you take the PR agent's advice in R512 and stop looking yourself online so much. Wouldn't want to end up shaving your head and hitting cars with an umbrella, now would we?

R525 A lot of young people use the word 'like' in their sentences, you, stupid idiot. He was trying to protect her privacy but I'm not. I'm not even a fan of his crappy music.

All I did was show some pictures of his ex-girlfriend and you start freaking out like you just lost your boyfriend.

R527: You are too invested in prove his heterosexuality to not be a fan

R527 What r525 was trying to point out was that if he was "protecting her privacy" then how did those pictures end up being public anyway, YOU idiot

And is so obvious you're a fan (or PR ?) What would you gain from "defending" him here otherwise

R529: You call me idiot but it's pretty clear that you are lacking reading comprehension and and english is not even my first language.

Maybe saying straight can keep him forever was not clear enough for you

Only fangirls of closet cases are delighted to coo over pics of a gf. If y'all knew he was straight, deep in your hearts, you'd be tearing her to shreds while also calling her a beard for eternity 🙄

R531: Nobody knows who is she, and nobody cares.

Half of gays had a gilrfriend in high school

R529 He never mentioned her name in interviews but he did mention that he had a girlfriend for 2 years. Pictures have a way of leaking out. Her name is all over social media.

I'm not even trying to defend him. All I did was show some pictures but some delusional idiots like you can't handle the truth.

What truth? that he has a girlfriend in high school? I think nobody questioned that ever

Shawn Mendes has no gay vibe like Samuel L. Jackson has no black vibe.

Even if these types of guys were straight, don't they still lose fans if they have a girlfriend or get married? It's being available that makes them so popular.

[quote]Most young Canadian guys are metrosexuals nowadays. They wear skinny jeans and scarves partly because of the cold Canadian weather and partly to look cool. They are not the same as American hillbillies.

Oh, please.

Most young Canadian guys do not ping like Shawn or have all these issues.

Shawn’s ‘Beyoncé is fabulous’ video is gayer than Dawson’s 50 load weekend

God help us if his fangurls find DL.

R539 They already have, along with Shawn.

We should post some gay porn on this thread to scare away the fangirls.

r527 and r530, you seem to be saying you're the Canadian but not signing your posts, and for someone who claims English is not your first language, your little lecture on the use of the word like is ridiculous.

No one uses like the way Mendes did in ordinary conversation in English. Some say I feel like, sick, or I mean, like, okay, but not I need to find someone "like a girl". It's beyond a Freudian slip. No straight guy would say he needs to FIND a girl to put on show to prove he's straight, much less someone LIKE a girl.

And It can't be that hard for someone like Mendes to prove it, especially if you have the pictures so easily to display?

Get it? No, I'm sure you don't.

R542 I'm not even the same person as R530, dumbo.

The way he looks at the interviewer on his right at the beginning (and during the whole interview) lmao this bitch can't hide it for shit

[QUOTE]I'm not even trying to defend him

Says the person posting over and over and over and over again trying to convince everyone he's straight and not even gay acting.

And let's remember, that to even post those, you either paid to do so, or you kept visiting this site day after day to build up the visits needed to be able to post for free. Quite the obsessive, no?

[quote]Shawn Mendes has no gay vibe like Samuel L. Jackson has no black vibe.

The tiresome black analogy yet again.

Relevance.

He gets gayer around gay guys, i suppose that makes sense.

R545 I made no more posts than what you did and fewer than what some other people did. Most of my posts are just responding back to people like you. I only started posting yesterday and today.

If I'm obsessive, that means you and others are just as bad for constantly posting comments confirming his gayness.

Wait, we have to pay to post here? I've never paid 🤔

Samuel L. Jackson has gay vibe

r549 If you want to start posting right away without waiting to collect enough cookies, yes you have to pay.

[quote] you and others are just as bad for constantly posting comments confirming his gayness.

Fuck off this is a GAY site, what do you expect. Why can't you fraus just stay in your fucking lane

"He dOesN'T HavE A gAy FAcE"

"I doN't GeT GaY ViBes FroM Him"

Shorter version of the video above

Maybe this is why Shawn agreed to perform at the Victoria's Secret fashion show. A gay man wouldn't ever be surrounded by so many beautiful women in lingerie! The show airs tonight at 10PM (9PM central time) on ABC.

R553/R554, Shawn certainly seems to enjoy dancing with that pink boa.

To the Canadian bitch who keeps saying Shawn is just acting like a "shy Canadian" and doesn't seem gay....honey I live in Toronto but was raised in Pickering (just like Shawn) and the boy pings louder than a Fire Island production of Rent. Also the girlfriend in high school is not conclusive as I and number of my gay friends had girlfriends in high school. My take on him is he knows he's fag but still no where near ready to admit it.

Shawn looked so cute next to those giant VS models.

Man, I feel like a woman.

He loks like he wants to GTFOT

What is most hilarious about the pink boa dance is all the girls squealing in ecstasy at it. Women and girls are just as bad as any demographic for imposing their fantasies on men like Mendes – the ones who think he's "sensitive" and cuddles and would be the perfect boyfriend because he's feminine – you know, a boy who is "like a girl" (to quote Mendes) to tick the boyfriend box.

R548 The difference being you're claiming to not be here defending him, and yet you post constantly doing so. Plus there's the whole fact that you had to jump through hoops to post here, on a gay site, to defend him. That's the obsessive part.

Meanwhile the rest of us are just bitching and joking about him, and none of us are denying that. And we were all here anyway.

Now, as R551 said, fuck off back to wherever you came from, frau.

He's even got "men" in his name. How gay can one man be?

R562 I didn't jump through hoops to post here. Anyone can post here for free.

Don't respond back to me anymore and I won't come back here.

I get it now. Gay men hate women.

R563 Nicole KidMAN

Anyone can post here for free - after visiting without being able to post for what, two weeks is it? So yes, hoops were jumped through, you kept coming back here day after day just so you could spew your bullshit.

And we don't hate all women. Just the homophobic ones who come to a gay site to spread homophobia.

And finally r564 admits she's a fangirl! And no, we don't hate women we hate fraus like you, I personally don't mind even fangirls coming here as long as you contribute to the discussion without trying to convince us how straight Shawn is or "educate" us on how to be gay. Just look as how long it took for you to admit you're a girl after trying to pass as a gay man all this time

I never try to pass as a gay man. You just assume that I'm a gay man. I told you not to respond to me anymore and you won't hear from me again.

R560, look who was with Shawn at the Victoria's Secret show:

This Zac has a nice chin.

What the Hell could Zac and Shawn have in common that they would be hanging together so much? Hey Shawn. Isn't it time for you to be hanging around all of those girls instead of Zac(not in the music industry) Stenmark

I love wearing my pink boa in bed, while Zac fucks me and calls me his bro. Ultimate bro fantasy!!!!!

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

r569 Old news my man, we talked all about that in the last thread. They went out later too to some other friend's BD party

^ Nevermind, I forgot this isn't Shawn's "official" thread

Speaking of which, these conversations ought to be moved to the official Shawn Mendes thread. This interview is a week old and no longer relevant.

R574, I don't think it's old news if it just happened last night.

And I don't think it was talked about it in the other Shawn thread, either.

R576 Oh look, we have a self appointed thread monitor

r577 It didn't happen last night, it was recorded weeks ago, it just aired last night

Let's get lost tonight!

Some future pity party interview 🙄

R579, okay, but the Stenmark photo on Instagram with Shawn is new -- it was just posted earlier today.

r582 Maybe he wanted to wait until after the show aired as to not confuse his stupid fangurls.

I used to follow Shawn because I liked him. I don't anymore. I follow him because I want to see him fail. I want to see him ridiculed. He's an asshole and deserves nothing less. So yes, I will still post in the Shawn threads, but you will see a different tone from me, more snark, sarcasm and bitching. Can't wait to make fun of this pathetic closet case.

r582 It isn't new, we've seen it before. He must've posted it just now because the show aired yesterday, but it was all over fanpages, and the last thread last month.

Here, from almost a month ago (Nov.9/10) Zac didn't even bothered to post a personal picture

Gay as a tractor.

November 9th is pretty new considering they've been spotted on a d off for a year. Plus Shawn seemed embarrassed when TMZ did that ambush interview on the street with Shawn while he was walking with Zac.

You're really trying to make Zac happen lmao

Shawn is disgusting. He fights so hard to prevent the GHAY from coming out from his every pore.

That sweet tight ass of his was born to take cock.

So are those twins his lovers? I imagine Shawn must be fucking both of them. I know I would.

He's still young and in the spotlight nonetheless. I didn't fully come out comfortably til 20/21.

r591 Me too, at 20 (I'm 26 now so not so long ago) I wish he wouldn't say this kind of stupid homophobic stuff though, It'll be very awkward when he comes out

I feel like he's over. He's just too twee for modern audiences. Even Ed Sheeran and Justin Timberlake had a slightly wild edge to them at times. HIs little choir boy persona is so dated.

R593: Well, Ed Sheeran's first single was about a woman who prostitute herself to buy coke.

Shawn has the problem that he is not believable as romantic gentleman. his lyrics sound cringeworthy. And when he tried something different it flopped.

And i repeat, i was not expecting him to come out but i was not expecting him to be a narcissitic asshole either

Bitches please. Shawn is sliding down multiple dicks, Zac, John Mayer, the bodyguard, etc. And I'm sure if he announced he's gay today there would be dudes lined up for blocks trying to get his tight pink hole. Deep down, he is not worried at all about some haters on the internet. Even if his music career tanks he will have his pick of men to take care of him for the rest of his days!

[QUOTE]Deep down, he is not worried at all about some haters on the internet

The fact that he searches for their posts and then changes how he behaves in response suggests otherwise.

R596: his team should correct that behaviour as soon as possible. It's not sane for him

R597 They probably encourage it, saves them having to tell him to act less gay. And I think it's clearly established by now that the teams around these pop stars don't give a fuck about the health - mental or otherwise - of their clients.

R598: I recognize the interview was a big big dissapoinment, i thought he was a nice guy and the interview shows a narcissistic jerk, but i don't want him to have a meltdown and he really seems of the verge of a nervous attack.

That obsessive behaviour is not sane on an anonymous person but for someone on the public eye could be disastrous if he doesn't learn how to deal with criticism

Annnnd done