Holy underwear fantasies, Batman! Did you know Shawn Mendes once casually admitted he’d drop $500 on Justin Bieber’s used briefs? And our collective gay hearts haven’t recovered since.
That jaw-dropping moment from 2018’s Carpool Karaoke wasn’t just a throwaway comment – it was the confession heard ’round the gay internet, fueling countless daydreams about two of Canada’s finest exports and their intimate laundry situation.
Back when a fresh-faced 19-year-old Shawn joined James Corden for a musical joyride to promote his self-titled third album, little did we know we’d get such a deliciously candid glimpse into his Bieber wants and needs.
And honestly? We’re still not over it seven years later.
The $500 Confession
During their ride, James casually mentioned in jest that Justin Bieber supposedly wears a new pair of underwear every day and then sells them online.
“I’d buy them,” Shawn immediately confessed, with the kind of enthusiasm that sent collective shivers down our spines.
When pressed on how much he’d shell out for Justin’s used briefs, Shawn’s response was swift and specific: “I’d probably cap it at like five hundred dollars.”
But wait, it gets better. Shawn wasn’t interested in just any ordinary pair from Justin’s drawer. Our man had requirements.
“I want to know specifically when he wore them,” Shawn elaborated, suddenly becoming the underwear connoisseur we never knew we needed.
“I want it to be like the pair of underpants he recorded Love Yourself in”, James suggested – but Shawn preferred the pair Justin used to play hockey in (that would be my first choice too).
The mental image alone is enough to make the temperature rise a few degrees. This was the crossover event that fan fiction writers couldn’t have dreamed up if they tried.
Watch the whole exchange here – with Shawn and James also singing some of Shawn’s songs from that era:
From Underwear Fanboy to Calvin Klein Model
The irony, of course, is that just a year later, Shawn would become a Calvin Klein model himself, breaking the internet with campaign photos that had everyone else wanting to collect his underwear.
Those steamy shots of Shawn in nothing but Calvin Klein briefs became instant classics, proving that perhaps Justin wasn’t the only Canadian singer who could move merchandise.
Fast Forward to 2025
Seven years have passed since that charmingly thirsty confession, and both singers have evolved significantly.
Shawn, now 26, recently released his new self-titled album in November 2024, featuring vulnerable tracks like The Mountain that address the persistent sexuality speculation that has followed him throughout his career.
As he explained during a New York performance: “I was being 25 years old for the first time in my life, and I was exploring, and I feel like everyone should if they can.”
That exploration apparently started years earlier with a willingness to drop serious cash on another man’s underwear – a confession that feels even more intriguing in hindsight.
Would today’s more confident, outspoken Shawn still be interested in Bieber’s underwear? Perhaps the price would be higher now, given inflation.
Or maybe after his own underwear modeling career, he’d prefer to stick with his own Calvin Kleins.
Either way, this remains one of the most endearingly thirsty moments in Carpool Karaoke history, and we’re still not over it years later.