Shawn Mendes Slammed For Using Wildfire As Artwork For Song

Shawn Mendes' promotion of a new song has fans on Twitter in an uproar about his choice of artwork. The Canadian singer shared a photo of an orange Manhattan skyline caused by the raging Canadian wildfires. The "Mercy" singer, 24, captioned his social media posts: "WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DYING FOR ? MIDNIGHT ET."

Upon the Friday (June 9) release of the single, Mendes offered more insight to the reason behind the song and artwork. He wrote on Twitter: "Started writing this song yesterday morning with my friends in upstate Newyork & finished it only a few hours ago..felt so important to me to share with you guys in real time." In a follow-up tweet, the singer-songwriter said he was also donating to Canadian Red Cross and urged fans to learn more and donate.

In the quote tweets of his initial announcement of the song, many folks on Twitter roasted the musician. One person said: "you done lost that white a-- mind of yours." Another slammed the artist by saying, "you’re tryna capitalize on a natural disaster and the song still gonna go triple cardboard on the charts." One person said, "The cover art and song title… you so corny for this."

Commenting on his post on Instagram, one fan wrote: "IVE NEVER BEEN CAUGHT MORE OFF GUARD IN MY LIFE." Another asked, "canada burning was just shawn mendes promo?" A third commented: "ppl are dying in wildfires n getting sick by the poor air quality n u rlly decided to make it ur aesthetic?" One fan stated: "I know you did not just use a photo from the last two days to promote your comeback single."Mendes has been on a break from music ever since canceling his “Wonder” tour last July to focus on his mental health.

Another person commented, "he really used the fire smoke in NY lmaoooooo." Meanwhile, one person said, "You quick with that cover art [eyes looking emoji]." Commented another, "Why are you trying to profit off a natural disaster?"

Per CBS News, there are currently 426 active fires in Canada. Of those fires, 232 are labeled as "out of control," 112 are marked as "under control," while another 82 are "being held." The smoke from these fires have been blowing into the US, but are expected to gradually blow away from East Coast over the weekend.

Some of the world’s most famous musicians held regular jobs while trying to make it in the music industry. In recent years, thanks to the digital era—especially with the advent of social media—artists have used creative methods other than record labels to get their music out there. Whether dropping original songs or covers on major streaming and social media platforms or being in the right place at the right time, these musicians demonstrate that you never really know who’s listening and watching.