Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes
said in a new interview that he still gets “riled up” over rumors
about his sexuality.
The 20-year-old Mendes has previously
denied rumors that he's gay.
“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,” Mendes told Rolling Stone last year.
Speaking with the Guardian,
Mendes said that speculation about his sexuality is “hurtful.”
“For me it’s hurtful,” Mendes
said. “I get mad when people assume things about me because I
imagine the people who don’t have the support system I have and how
that must affect them. That was why I was so angry, and you can see I
still get riled up because I don’t think people understand that
when you come at me about something that’s stupid you hurt so many
other people.”
“They might not be speaking, but
they’re listening,” he added.
(Related: Adam
Rippon crushes on Jake Gyllenhaal, Harry Styles, Shawn Mendes.)