Shawn Mendes addresses drug addiction fears

Shawn Mendes has recently addressed drug addiction fears in a candid interview.

In a new interview with The New York Times, the Canadian pop star recalled he hit rock bottom during his Wonder World tour in 2022.

“The shows I could get through and find beauty in them... But when I would step offstage, I just didn’t recognise myself. I was a shell — like talking to a wall,” said the 26-year-old.

Shawn cancelled his tour and made an emotional statement to fans in 2022, explaining: “I started this tour excited to finally get back to playing live after a long break due to the pandemic, but the reality is I was not at all ready for how difficult touring would be after this time away.”

The singer opened up that he was drinking and doing drugs before and after his shows and it was at this time, he realised he’s not going to make same mistakes that other stars had made before him.

“I was like, I’m not going to rewrite the same story that’s been written a thousand times by musicians and artists, where they can’t cope and they’d start taking more drugs, more alcohol, until it’s too much. I’m not doing that. I’m just going hard left,” explained the musician.

Reflecting on how he dealt with addictions, Shawn told TMZ at the time, “I’m taking a lot of time just doing therapy, just taking it easy, man.”

“Spending time with family that I haven’t been able to ... it’s just about spending time doing things I haven’t really done over the last few years and just having dinners with friends and stuff,” he added.

Meanwhile, Shawn is making his return to the charts this year with a new album, which is going to release next month.