Lance Bass Out of Closet: Boy Band Member Admits He’s Gay
Former NSYNC member, Lance Bass, has been sick and tired of hearing all those people talkin’ ’bout his sexual orientation. No need to drive yourself crazy, Bass fans, the secret’s finally out.
Hitting the stands this Friday is the People interview in which former boy band star, Lance Bass, reveals he is gay. After years of keeping his attraction to men private, Lance confesses that he thought his homosexuality would reflect badly on the group. Bass explains why he didn’t come out of the closet sooner. “I knew that I was in this popular band and I had four other guys’ careers in my hand, and I knew that if I ever acted on it or even said (that I was gay), it would overpower everything,” Bass said.
This is not the first openly gay member of a famous boy band. In 1999, at the height of their success, Boyzone’s Stephen Gately confessed his homosexuality. In 2005, Mark Feehily, of the Irish sensation Westlife, also came out to the public.
Lance took years to admit he was gay, telling friends and then family members. Bass’ band members Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake support him. Fatone, the first of the members to find out, said, “He took years to really think about how he was going to tell everyone. I back him up 100 percent.”
Lance, 27, gave the exclusive interview with People because he felt the media was invading his private life. Bass said, “The main reason I wanted to speak my mind was that (the rumors) really were starting to affect my daily life. Now it feels like it’s on my terms. I’m at peace with my family, my friends, myself and God so there’s really nothing else that I worry about.” Bass has been in a steady relationship with former Amazing Race winner, Reichen Lehmkuhl, 32.
Lehmkuhl, a model turned actor turned reality star, appeared in 2003’s fourth installment of CBS’ world travel game show, The Amazing Race, with his then-boyfriend Chip Arndt. The duo claimed the top prize, winning $1 million. Lehmkuhl has since made the reality tv rounds, including Fear Factor, and hosted a talk show on Q Television. The cable network, which has since gone out of business, targeted the gay and lesbian community.
Months before Lance’s official announcement, there had been several reports on the internet and in gossip columns about Bass being spotted in gay bars and hanging around Reichen, who is openly gay. Photographs of the couple sharing each other’s clothes had surfaced, a sign that the two were in a relationship. Though spokeswomen for each refused to comment, when stories began appearing in print, ‘outing’ Lance, gay activists were angered.
“Coming out is a personal, private decision that needs to be made by the individual. Media speculation about people’s sexual orientation is not something we support,” said Damon Romine, entertainment media director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. In the past, media outlets have avoided exposing celebrities who have chosen to hide their sexual orientation. But now, new publications and websites, have taken an alternative approach.
Journalists for the Blade newspaper have reported on famed people’s private lives that they deem hypocritical. In a blog entry, managing editor of the Washington Blade, Kevin Naff, wrote “Bye, Bye Bye to the Closet,” referencing a popular *NSYNC song. Naff wondered why Bass continued to deny his sexuality, though living an “openly closeted” lifestyle; he compared it as being similar to what Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell had done prior to publicly announcing their preference for same sex partners.
Naff reported recently on Lance-Lehmkuhl sightings over the fourth of July weekend, writing the two made “the gay party rounds” at several prominent parties frequented by homosexuals. Naff offers no sympathy towards celebrities who hide their homosexuality. Naff said, “If privacy is what Lance wants, that’s something that’s easy to have. But if you’re Lance Bass, and you’re going to the gayest town on the gayest day of the year and going to gay parties, you have to expect something.”
The Mississippi native, raised a Southern Baptist, admits he is not embarrassed about being gay. “The thing is, I’m not ashamed – that’s the one thing I want to say,” he explains of his decision to come out. “I don’t think it’s wrong, I’m not devastated going through this. I’m more liberated and happy than I’ve been my whole life. I’m just happy.”
*NYSNC hit major popularity in the late ’90s and early 2000, breaking records and earning fans worldwide, before taking a hiatus in 2002. Currently all members have been pursuing different projects. Kirkpatrick has formed a new band, Nigel’s 11, while Timberlake and Chasez have follow up solo albums set to be released this fall. Bass and Fatone are developing an “odd couple” sitcom where Bass’ character is gay.
