Shawn Mendes responds to people questioning his sexuality in 'The Mountain' lyrics

28 October 2024, 12:50 | Updated: 28 October 2024, 13:02

By Sam Prance

Shawn has previously opened up about the negative effect that people calling him "gay" has had on him.

Shawn Mendes has just delivered the perfect response to anyone still questioning his sexuality in the form of a song.

Ever since Shawn Mendes first rose to fame, the Canadian star has been subjected to unfair scrutiny and speculation surrounding his sexuality. Despite the fact that Shawn has repeatedly stated in interviews that he's not gay, people have continued to hyper-analyse his body language, interviews and relationships in a highly invasive manner.

Now, Shawn has addressed the conversation surrounding his sexuality in the lyrics of his new song 'The Mountain'.

• Read more: Shawn Mendes pays tribute to Liam Payne on stage with heartbreaking 'Heart of Gold' speech

What are Shawn Mendes' 'The Mountain' lyrics about?

Shawn Mendes goes sledding shirtless

Shawn debuted 'The Mountain' as an acoustic ballad at his For Friends and Family Only concert in New York.

Explaining the song, Shawn said: "There was a time when I was in LA and I was very anti what anyone thought of me. I usually never get annoyed by this stuff but I felt like I was reading [false] articles all the time about me." He added: "I was exploring. I was being 25 years old for the first time in my life. I feel like everyone should explore if they can."

In 'The Mountain', Shawn sings about letting go of people's false perceptions of him. He sings: And you can say it was drugs / You can say it was God / You can say it was aliens / You can say I lost the plot / You can say I'm a dreamer / You can say I'm too far gone / But I saw something out there / So call it what you want.

Later in the song, Shawn directly sings about his sexuality by adding: You can say I'm too young / You can say I'm too old / You can say I like girls or boys / Whatеver fits your mould / You can say I'm a fool / You can say I'm a dreamer / You can say I'm too far gonе / But I've never felt better / So call it what you want.

Essentially, Shawn appears to be saying that he's now got to a point where people mislabelling his sexuality doesn't bother him anymore because he knows who he is.

Shawn Mendes - The Mountain (First Live Performance)

Shawn previously opened up about how comments about his sexuality affect him on the Armchair Expert podcast.

Speaking to Dax Shepard in 2020, Shawn revealed: "Everyone's been calling me gay since I was 15 years old. I'm not gay and I'm like, 'What does that mean?' I had problems with the way my voice sounded. I'm like, 'How do I sit?' I'm always first to cross my legs and sit with a position of this feminine style and I really suffered with that s--t.”

He continued: "It was so, so frustrating for me because there were some people in my life that I was very very close to, who were gay and in the closet,. And I felt this real anger for those people. It's such a tricky thing.'

Shawn ended by saying: "You want to say, 'I'm not gay but it'd be fine if I was gay—but also there's nothing wrong with being gay but I'm not.' You don't really know how to respond to the situation."

Read more from Capital Buzz here:

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• One Direction fans share Liam Payne memories and tributes following his death
• Camila Cabello reveals why she broke up with Shawn Mendes a second time
• Are Sabrina Carpenter's 'Sharpest Tool' Lyrics about Shawn Mendes?
• Every song Liam Payne wrote for One Direction

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