Arts & Entertainment
Shawn Mendes opens up about the stress of gay rumors
The ‘In My Blood’ singer speaks out on why the speculation bothers him
Shawn Mendes (Photo by Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons)
Singer Shawn Mendes got candid about the stress the public’s interest in his private life has caused him specifically about “this massive, massive thing for the last five years about me being gay.”
The 20-year-old singer spoke with Rolling Stone on the pressure he’s felt to “prove” he’s not gay.
“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,” the “In My Blood” singer says. “There’s still a piece of me that thinks that. And I hate that side of me.”
The speculation pushed Mendes into extreme paranoia. While on Taylor Swift’s tour, Swift asked Mendes if she had permission to post a video of Mendes having glittery eye makeup applied. Mendes agreed but soon after “woke up in a cold sweat.”
Taylor putting glittery eyeshadow on @ShawnMendes backstage at #repTourToronto on her Instagram Story! pic.twitter.com/9so7oD1VCx
— Taylor Nation SG (@taylornationSG) August 4, 2018
“I felt sick,” Mendes says. “I was like, ‘Fuck, why did I let her post that?’ I just fed the fire that I’m terrified of.”
However, he acknowledges that he is in touch with his feminine side because he grew up “braiding hair and painting nails” with his family.
“Maybe I am a little more feminine — but that’s the way it is. That’s why I am me,” he adds.
Mendes also says the constant questioning of his sexuality would be potentially damaging to his mental health if he was gay.
“I thought, ‘You fucking guys are so lucky I’m not actually gay and terrified of coming out.’ 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?” Mendes continued.
Mendes has been addressing rumors that he’s gay for a couple years. In 2016, he shut down the speculation in a series of Snapchat videos.
“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 not my sexuality,” Mendes said at the time.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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