Shawn Mendes' gender under scrutiny after 'heartfelt' tribute to Liam Payne

Shawn Mendes is addressing gender identity rumours about his preview performance of upcoming song The Mountain.

In a snippet that fans posted to TikTok, the 26-year-old, who played the track for his fans at one of his recent concerts, caroled, “Some days, I have a change of heart. You can say what you need to say.”

Sparking curiosity among fans about his sexuality, he continued, “You can say I’m too young. You can I’m too old. You can say I like girls or boys,' he continued to a round of applause. 'Whatever fits your mold.”

The singer, who recently paid tribute to Liam Payne after the former One Direction singer tragically fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, shared his gender identity on Snapchat back in 2016, asking fans to stay out of his personal life.

In addition, Mendes revealed that he was attracted to girls only.

He said at the time, “So I don't usually do this and bring up problems, but I was on YouTube just watching some of my interviews, and I was going down the comments and noticed a lot of people were saying that I gave them a ‘gay vibe.’

“First of all, I'm not gay. Second of all, it shouldn't make a difference if I was or if I wasn't. The focus should be on the music and not my sexuality.”

On professional front, the singer is gearing up for his upcoming album, which is slated to release on November 15, 2024.