Shawn Mendes receives supportive hug from musician after revealing 'truth' about sexuality

Candadian pop star shared a hug with a fellow musician just hours after

The Senorita hitmaker, whose exes include Camila Cabello and Sabrina Carpenter, was seen hugging producer Mike Sabath in Los Angeles on Tuesday, after addressing on stage on Monday.

Shawn, 26, was spotted loading luggage into a parked before taking a second to embrace his producer and close pal Mike Sabath, also 26, in the snaps obtained by the Daily Mail. The two men have been friends for many years and Mike is one of the composers and producers named on

The self-titled record is scheduled to be released on November and will feature a track called The Mountain, in which Shawn seemingly touches on the obsession with his sexuality. Mike has also worked with mega stars like , Lizzo and Meghan Trainor.

Shawn won praise from fans as he opened up about his sexuality during a concert, describing it as "complex". Fan footage from a Colorado gig on Monday, shows Shawn discussing his sexuality before performing the song 'The Mountain'. He reminisced about entering the music industry at 15 and not having the chance to explore aspects of himself like his peers did.

He's heard saying: "Since I was really young, there's this thing about my sexuality, and people have been talking about it for so long. I think it's kind of silly, because I think sexuality is such a beautifully complex thing, and it's so hard to just put into boxes. It always felt like [it's] such intrusion on something very personal to me. Something that I was figuring out in myself, something that I had yet to discover and still have yet to discover."

The pop idol then opened up about his journey of self-discovery, stating: "The truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I'm just figuring it out like everyone. And I don't really know sometimes and I know other times. And it feels really scary because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that. And I'm trying to be really brave and just allow myself to be a human and feel things."

Shawn also delved into the topic through his music with lyrics that say: "You can say what you need to say. You can say I'm too young, say I'm too old, you can say I like girls or boys, whatever fits your mould. You can say I'm a dreamer, you can say I'm too far gone, but I've never been better so call it what you want."

The 26-year-old singer addressed comments about his sexuality back in 2016, as reported by US Weekly from Snapchat, saying: "I don't usually do this and bring up problems, but I was on YouTube just watching some of my interviews, and I was going down the comments and noticed a lot of people were saying that I gave them a 'gay vibe.' 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 and not my sexuality."

Additionally, he previously called out such speculation as "ignorant and insensitive" in a 2020 Guardian interview. According to Rolling Stone magazine, the Brit Award nominee reached his limit when filming the video, telling the outlet: "I thought, 'You f***ing guys are so lucky I'm not actually gay and terrified of coming out'. That's something that kills people." He then questioned: "Who cares if I'm gay?"

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