The Ricki Lake Show, one of our favorite talk shows of yesteryear, is back with a gay vengeance: On today’s episode, former N’Sync member Lance Bass talks to Ricki about disclosing his sexuality: “I didn’t tell a single person when I was with ‘N Sync. I didn’t tell a friend a family member—nothing like that,” says Bass. “As long as I was with ‘N Sync I didn’t date a guy. I was completely asexual…[but] I knew from 4 years old that I was gay.”
dellisonly
Hate to burst your bubble but we knew. Who are you tryin’ to fool sistah?
tdx3fan
So, when he had the power to make an actual difference in the community he kept his mouth shut, but when he became a has been that never really was he started to talk. Thanks for nothing, Mr Bass!
Dumdum
Oh please Miss Thing! I thought all of those boys in those bands were Gay. I am always shocked when any of them marry a woman and even more so when they father a child.
Cam
Lance actually was a good example of what the closet does. He always came off as vacant and non-sexual, which is what happens when somebody is uncomfortable and in the closet. They need to supress that side, but can’t really fake the other so they come off as just….not totally functional. Sort of like Ellen in her old sitcome before the character came out.
The one thing, and I know that some people hate outing HOWEVER, you can’t argue that Neil Patrick Harris and to a certain extent Lance Bass have woken straights up to some gay isses, and both of them were outed by blogs.
EdWoody
@dellisonly: @Dumdum: Queerty’s title notwithstanding, I think it’s clear that what Lance is actually saying is that, regardless of whether anyone “knew” * , he hadn’t told anyone.
* Besides which, you’re mistaking what you assume for what is absolute truth, which is basically what the fundie whack jobs do. You didn’t “know” anything about Lance, because you have never met him.
IzzyLuna
Bitch, please. Even my teen nieces had N’Sync posters in their room and they’d talk about which guys they had a crush on. They’d point at his and say, “He’s cute but he’s gay.”
mpwaite
Listen to yourselves.. I’m disgusted with each and every one of you!! The man had very difficult decisions to make about his life/career and was at an age when all of kinds of misconceptions run through your head. He was a teenager!! Do you remember what it was like to be a teen in high school and how gays were perceived??? huh??? do you??? Give me a break with the whole “He should have a beacon for the gay community!” bullsh*t!! He also had to deal with the religious thing in the south… So did I!! I am a Christian and I’m gay!! I go to the largest gay christian church, The Cathedral of Hope in Dallas,Tx.where I feel safe to be me and love the Lord.. Before that… I was just as confused and had to listen to the vitriol and crap that my peers thought about homosexuality!!.. So I KNOW what Lance Bass went through… So spare the GAY PRIDE bullshit and embrace a fellow brother… You know… We as a community will NEVER BE ACCEPTED IF WE FIRST DON’T ACCEPT OURSELVES AND QUIT BEING SO JUDGMENTAL OF OUR OWN
alterego1980
@tdx3fan: If in his position, I doubt you’d handle those emotions so well. coming out back then (even in 99/2000) would have brought N’Sync to a screeching halt. Ellen proved that this was the case. It took her years before anyone gave her a shot again. I don’t blame him one bit and neither should you. Thank goodness we are in a different environment today where it’s a more friendly environment for the gays to come out DURING their careers. It still means a lot for him to say, “hey, remember me from N Sync, I’m gay and I was the same then as I am now…”
Spike
And what did he do with all that fame after he came out?
Dated Reichen.
Enuf said.
oilburner
He uses his homosexuality to staty relevant. Epic. Fail
BiL
Oh Lance sweetie. We knew. Even my neighbor’s cat knew you were Gay when you were in N’SYNC.
hotshot70
Uh, Lance, we KNEW you were gay. The bigger surprise would have been the rest of NSync saying they were straight!
Rockery
Is he still dragging this out? Talk about beating a dead horse! The longest coming out ever! LOL
Cee
I never paid attention to this guy. Only Justin and JC. The other 3 including Lance were really lucky to be a part of the group. They should just count their blessings.
Dumdum
@mpwaite: You make a very good point and PERSONALLY I am too old for the boy band phenomena to be relative in my life because when I was a teenager my CHRISTIAN parents had kicked my gay ass out and I was living on the streets and selling my ass to the highest bidder. I would very much like to tell you what you can do with your LOVE AND YOUR LORD. My lord for three long years was where am I going to sleep tonight and gee I hope the guy who puts me up is nice enough to let me sleep.
Superman
Way to go, Lance! I was floored when you came out because you’re one of the sexiest guys I’ve ever heard or laid eyes on, and I admire you greatly for being so open about your sexuality. Some celebs confess and then shove it back under the rug, but you’re never afraid to discuss it and keep it in the limelight.
Judging from some of the comments, there’ll always be catty people who have to post the first negative thing that comes to mind. I chalk it up to insecurity and discontent with their own personal. You’ve made a far bigger impact on other people’s lives than they ever will; you’ve definitely been an inspiration for me. Love love love you.
And it’s great to see Ricki back!
DuMaurier
@Cam: Yes, I’m sure there were blogs that “outed” Bass and Neil Patrick Harris, but since anyone with a computer knows the Internet is continually “outing” people who aren’t even “in” (there’s a lot of online wishful thinking), I doubt if that fact had much to do with the public’s perceptions of them.
DuMaurier
@mpwaite: Loved your post. This divisive cattiness is really dismaying. I also can’t understand how people who know from personal experience the challenges of coming out to a small circle of friends, families and co-workers seem to think it should be a piece of cake to do it in front of the whole world.
Common sense alone says that the fear of rejection, judgment, etc that an ordinary person feels would be multiplied by a factor of millions for a celebrity.
Stache99
Please. I hated In sync but even I knew that one was gay.