Shawn Mendes opened up about his sexuality Monday night while performing for fans at a concert in Colorado.

The 26-year-old singer-songwriter began his speech by telling the audience at Morrison’s Red Rocks Amphitheater that he had “thought about this today, whether I should say something at this point tonight.”

After a long break, Mendes was cheered by the audience as he spoke about his early start in the music industry and how it affected his personal life.

“I was very young when I started. I was 15 years old,” he said in his speech, images of which have been shared on social media. “The truth is, I didn’t get to do a lot of things at fifteen and discovered parts of myself that you do at fifteen.”

“There’s something about my sexuality, and people have been talking about it for so long,” he continued, adding that it was “kind of silly, because I think sexuality is such a beautifully complex thing, and it’s so hard to to just put it into words.” in boxes.”

“It always felt like an intrusion into something very personal to me. Something I was figuring out within myself, something I had yet to discover and have yet to discover,” he continued. “The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I’m figuring it out just like everyone else. And it feels very scary because we live in a society that has a lot of say in that. And I’m trying to be very to be brave and allow myself to be human and feel things. And that’s all I want to say about that for now.”

He then talked about his unreleased song “The Mountain,” which includes the lyrics, “You can say I’m too young / You can say I’m too old / You can say I like girls or boys, which suits you. “

“Writing the song felt really important to me because it felt like a moment where I could tackle it in a way that was close to my heart,” he explained. “And I think now I’m just speaking out because I just want to be able to be closer to everyone and just kind of be in my truth.”

Mendes, who previously dated fellow singer Camila Cabello, has spoken out about speculation about his sexuality a number of times over the years.

In an interview with Rolling stone in 2018, the Canadian-born star spoke about “this huge, huge thing over the last five years about me being gay.” At the time, there were a plethora of social media posts speculating about his sexuality.

“In my heart of hearts, I feel like I need to be seen in public with someone, like a girl, to prove to people that I’m not gay,” he said. “Even though I know in my heart it’s not a bad thing. There’s still a part of me that thinks that. And I hate that side of me.”

He told the publication that after reading YouTube comments from people further discussing his sexuality, “I thought, ‘You damn boys are so lucky that I’m not actually gay and terrified of coming out.’ That’s something that kills people. It’s that sensitive. Do you like the songs? Who cares if I’m gay?’

Mendes responded to those who looked into his private life in 2016 by sharing the Snapchat story in which he told his followers: “I don’t usually do this and raise issues, but I was on YouTube just watching some of my interviews watching and I went down the comments and I noticed a lot of people were saying I was giving them a ‘gay vibe’. First of all, I’m not gay. Secondly, it shouldn’t make a difference whether I was or not.”

“The focus should be on the music, not on my sexuality,” he added at the time.

“I just want you guys, before you judge someone by the way they speak or act… I want you guys to think, Hey, maybe I shouldn’t judge someone or wait, it doesn’t even really matter. They can do , be or feel however they want to feel,” he continued.

“I’m not frustrated because people know I was gay in the first place,” he clarified. “I don’t have a problem with that because it wouldn’t matter to me. I’m frustrated because people these days have the audacity to write online that I’m gay as if that’s a bad thing. That’s all they have to say about it. I just wish the one percent of people (who speculate) would grow up.”

Speak with The Guardian in 2019, Mendes discussed his Rolling stone interview and the prolonged focus on his sexuality.

“For me it is painful,” he told the British newspaper. “I get angry when people assume things about me because I imagine the people who don’t have the support system that I have and how that must affect them.”

Update 10/29/24, 5:40 PM ET: This article has been updated with additional information.