Variety published Wednesday, the “American Idol” alum, 45, paused talking about his Christmas album to randomly bring up the discourse around Mendes, 26.“By the way, did Shawn Mendes come out today?” Aiken asked. “Have you seen this video on his Instagram?
I didn’t finish watching it because I looked at the time and I was like, ‘Oh God, I gotta get on the computer.'”“So I don’t know if he really did,” Aiken added. “I shouldn’t out him if he didn’t.”Aiken’s interview seemingly took place at the end of October when Mendes made headlines for saying he was still “figuring out” his sexuality at his concert in Colorado.
Clips of the moment were shared on TikTok by fans. “The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone,” Mendes said at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Oct.
28. “I don’t really know sometimes, and I know other times.”After bringing up Mendes, Aiken — who came out as gay in 2008 — was asked by the Variety reporter how he feels about the speculation about the fellow singer’s sexuality.“I feel like no one has speculated about s – – t since 2000 — since I went through that crap,” he said. “I joke that after I came out publicly, it stopped being a story.