In an interview with Rolling Stone, musician Shawn Mendes talked about how he has been receiving overwhelming comments with people asking if he's gay. Mendes has said multiple times that he isn't, but the rumors are still being speculated because of the way he presents himself sometimes.

Society thinks, that celebrities have this glamorous life, but being in the spotlight 24/7 has its downsides. They are constantly being watched by fans and paparazzi, and every little thing they do will get scrutinized by the public. We have come to expect that celebrities reveal every aspect of their personal lives. We have to know who's dating who, what's their sexuality, are they doing drugs? Celebrities don't have a right to privacy anymore, and that's not fair.

Just because a person excels in some sort of art form whether it be acting, or singing, doesn't mean that they should lose their privacy, which is a basic human right.

We need to stop harassing celebrities to come out of the closet. We don't do this for normal everyday people, yet we are constantly asking and trying to prove that a certain celebrity is gay.

Coming out is a completely personal and private decision. So many LGBTQ youths have committed suicide, been kicked out of their homes, and have been ostracized by their family because they decided to be open with themselves about their sexuality. The same thing can happen to celebrities.

We don't know what their family life is like, we don't know if they are struggling with religious turmoil, and we don't know how this will affect their work life.

Mendes said that this issue has become a huge stressor in his life and caused him some major anxiety because he is constantly worrying about crossing his legs a certain way or having to watch what he says or gets posted on social media so the fire doesn't get lit even more. He feels like he even has to make sure that he is publicly seen with a girl and show affection to said girl just to prove to people that he is straight. This is messed up.

2018 is one of the most progressive years in terms of LGBTQ equality. Sure, there is still some areas of the world and even the U.S where it's still not safe to come out and be yourself, but we need to start being more progressive and show an example so that way the rest of the world can follow.

We need to stop outing people, they will come out in their own time, and we need to get rid of the predetermined LGBTQ and gender stereotypes that we have in our heads. Boys can have long hair and wear makeup and still like girls, this goes the same way for girls.

Stop trying to put people in a box, and let them just be them.