Sam Smith responds after Shawn Mendes apologises for misgendering singer

Sam Smith has responded after Shawn Mendes issued an apology for misgendering the singer by using the wrong pronouns.

Mendes, 22, referred to the Stay With Me hitmaker as "he" while introducing the star on IHeartRadio's Jingle Ball when Smith, who is non-binary, uses they/them pronouns.

"Oh @samsmith I'm so sorry for referring to you as a "he" for your jingle ball introduction," Mendes wrote on an Instagram story.

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"It absolutely slipped my mind. Won't happen again...Sending you so much love ! Also you absolutely are one of the funniest people I've ever met!"

Re-sharing the post to their own account, Smith, 28, wrote: "We're all learning together. Happy holidays, all my love xx."

Last month, Smith said they had experienced "unexpected" struggles after coming out as non-binary.

"It's been amazing but it's also really, really hard to see all the backlash and the amount of people that are still so unsupportive of gender non-conforming people and trans people all around the world," they told James Corden on The Late Late Show.

Smith also added that "all in all" it had been "wonderful" and that it was a positive experience to be open about themselves.

Smith came out as non-binary last March in a candid chat with actor and presenter Jameela Jamil.

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“When I saw the word ‘non-binary’, ‘genderqueer’, and I read into it, and I heard these people speaking I was like, ‘F***, that is me’,” they told Jamil.

“I’m not male or female, I think I flow somewhere in between. It’s all on the spectrum,” they continued.

Several months later Smith asked fans to refer to them using they/them pronouns.

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