Shawn Mendes talks about his sexuality

According to video footage fans shared on social media, Shawn Mendes said he was “figuring out” his sexuality during his concert in Denver on Monday.

The singer said he wasn't able to “discover” certain parts of himself because he started working at such a young age.

“I think it's kind of silly because I think sexuality is such a beautiful, complex thing and it's so hard to put into boxes,” he said during his show, held at Red Rocks Amphitheater. “And it always felt to me like an intrusion into something very personal.”

Representatives for Mendes did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Mendes made the comments before performing his unreleased song “The Mountain,” whose lyrics reference speculation about his sexuality.

During the concert, he said that the song was his way of addressing the issue “in a way that is close to my heart.”

“The real truth about my life and my sexuality is, man, I'm just figuring it out like everyone else, and sometimes I don't really know, sometimes I do,” he said.

His comments sparked a discussion online about how fans discuss the sexuality of artists and celebrities. Many fans online said they felt the public had no right to know about celebrities' personal lives. Others said people shouldn't force anyone to name themselves.

Mendes dated fellow pop star Camila Cabello for years. Although he identified as heterosexual, rumors about his sexuality had been circulating online for years. He previously described the rumors about his sexuality as “frustrating.”

“You want to say, 'I'm not gay, but it would be fine if I were gay – but there's nothing wrong with being gay, but I'm not.' “You don’t really know how to react to the situation,” he said in a 2020 interview on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast.

In recent days, there has been renewed speculation among social media users about Mendes' sexual orientation after Interview Magazine posted a video of him. In it, the pop star can be seen sharing screenshots of his cell phone. Thousands of comments under the video on TikTok speculated that Mendes was queer based on his responses to the publication's query.

During Monday's show, Mendes said it's scary to talk about his journey because people talk about other people's sexuality. He said he was trying to “be human and feel things.”