In a recent interview with Variety to promote his new Christmas album, Christmas Bells Are Ringing, Clay Aiken unexpectedly brought up singer Shawn Mendes’ sexuality. The American Idol alum, 45, asked the interviewer, “By the way, did Shawn Mendes come out today?” Aiken referred to a video on Mendes’ Instagram, which he said he hadn’t fully watched before rushing to his interview, though it’s unclear which video he meant.
Aiken, who came out as gay in 2008, acknowledged, “I shouldn’t out him if he didn’t,” recognizing the importance of personal boundaries around sexuality. Mendes, 26, recently told fans during a concert in Colorado that he was still “figuring out” his sexuality, describing it as “a beautifully complex thing.” The singer, who has publicly dated women including Camila Cabello, explained, “The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone.”
Reflecting on his own experience, Aiken noted that speculation about celebrities’ sexuality seems to have waned since he went through media scrutiny in the early 2000s, remarking, “I joke that after I came out publicly, it stopped being a story.” He suggested that social acceptance has improved, partly due to the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2011, which allowed LGBTQIA+ individuals to serve openly in the military.
