Back in the late ’90s and early 2000s, Lance Bass was at the height of his career as a member of NSYNC, one of the biggest boy bands ever. The group was a global sensation, with fans eagerly following their every move and crafting idealized fantasies about the members. For many, these perceptions didn’t always align with reality, and Lance Bass’ later revelation that he is gay came as a surprise to fans who had grown up with a narrative of him.
Of course *NSYNC is named the Greatest Pop Star of 2000. Who else was doing it like them? That was their year!
pic.twitter.com/Ju9KQcoLJ4 https://t.co/SCk5vhBphy— Briana loves Lansten ⭐️💙💙💙💙💙 (@LanceBassLove) December 6, 2024
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In the early 2000’s, Bass had projects lined up for him with starring roles as a straight man or as a guest star playing a heterosexual romantic partner. If you recall, he even starred in a romantic comedy movie called On theLine, which he produced, where he played a sweet and shy ad executive who has a chance encounter with his dream girl on a train but forgets to get her contact details. Determined not to let her slip away, he embarks on a fun and heartwarming mission to find her in Chicago. Although the movie wasn’t exactly a blockbuster hit, Bass had many production companies lining up to guest him on their shows. He even guest starred as Beverly Mitchell‘s love interest in 7th Heaven.
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Lance dropped by the Politickin’ Podcast with Gavin Newsome, Marshawn Lynch, and Doug Hendrickson to break down what happened during his coming out period in 2006. Bass revealed that he was supposed to be in a CW pilot, but the show didn’t push through because he had just come out in an exclusive cover story with People Magazine at the time. The executives believed that the audience would have a difficult time believing his character, who was straight, because he was gay (oh how times have changed, thankfully).
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On why he decided to come out at the time, he tells People Magazine:
“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.”
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However, after coming out in the interview, Lance said, “I lost everything.” On the CW pilot being cancelled, Bass said, “We were about to shoot the pilot and this [coming out interview] came out and they were like, ‘We can’t do the show anymore. They believe that you’re straight to play a straight character.’”
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The singer revealed on the podcast that the executives were actually frank with him, telling him, “I don’t know what we can do with you now.”
“Every casting director I knew, they’re like, ‘Lance, we can’t cast you because they can’t look past—you’re too famous for being gay now that they can’t look at you as anything other than that,’” Bass said on the podcast. “I had to completely just restart and rebrand at that moment,”
After facing the challenges of coming out, Lance Bass expanded his career into producing, competing in reality shows like Dancing with the Stars, Unicorn Hunters, and My Kitchen Rules, and lending his voice to characters in animated series like. These days, he’s a proud advocate for LGBTQ+ representation, sharing glimpses of his life in show business and heartwarming moments with his husband and their two kids.
