Shawn Mendes Addresses Gay Rumors Again

Update: Since the RS feature was published, Shawn Mendes took to social media to apologize for his use of language. "Of course i have my insecurities and struggles but that’s just one part of me," he tweeted. "Sometimes the positive side of a story doesn't always get fully told and I wish it had here. I love what i do and i love you guys so much."

Regardless of what the blogosphere might say, Shawn Mendes has once again denied claims that he is gay, but he does feel the need to prove his sexuality, as per his new feature story with Rolling Stone magazine. 

In the interview, which also includes talk of his time with former flame Hailey Baldwin, his love for smoking weed and more, the Canadian heartthrob went into lengths as to why he feels the pressure to prove his sexuality. "This massive, massive thing for the last five years about me being gay," he said. "In the back of my heart, I feel like I need to go be seen with someone — like a girl — in public, to prove to people that I'm not gay. Even though in my heart I know that it's not a bad thing. There's still a piece of me that thinks that. And I hate that side of me."

Mendes' inner turmoil with the pressure that comes with his sexuality has prompted him to analyze his interviews all over YouTube and Twitter. Elsewhere in the cover story, the pop star admitted that he finds himself nit-picking his voice and his body language in old videos in efforts of not repeating the same habits. "I thought, 'You fu**ing guys are so lucky I'm not actually gay and terrified of coming out,'" he recalled of a moment last Christmas when he was reading YouTube comments. "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?"

Another point of contention he had with this issue is when Taylor Swift shared a cute post of her putting glittery eye makeup on his face. "I felt sick," he said recalled of his mid-evening wake up. "I was like, 'F**k, why did I let her post that?' I just fed the fire that I'm terrified of." Mendes grew up with 15 female cousins and would put glitter on his eyelids to make his parents laugh, so things like hair braiding and painting nails weren't out of the norm. "Maybe I am a little more feminine — but that's the way it is. That's why I am me," he added.

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