Former teen idol Lance Bass is reflecting on the profound impact his decision to come out in 2006 had on his pop music career.
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The *NSYNC alum joined California Governor Gavin Newsom and co-host Doug Hendrickson on the latest episode of their iHeart podcast, Politickin. Newsom asked Bass about the difficulties of being closeted while in the public eye as a member of one of the biggest music sensations of the late ’90s and early 2000s.
“I mean, I knew I was gay since I was 5 years old,” Bass explained. “But also knew at a young age that was something I was going to have to hide my whole entire life because it was dangerous, especially growing up in a state like Mississippi where there’s not one gay person, not one out person at all because it, again, was dangerous.”
The 45-year-old also admitted that growing up, he heard stories of people being murdered because they were gay. He also believed that being gay “was caused by the devil.”
“As a very religious person growing up, I wanted to do everything I could not to go burn in hell,” he added. “I would cry like every night. I would pray, ‘Please wake up not being gay. Please wake up being attracted to girls.’ Which is like a sad thing to put on a little kid.”
The Irony in Being in a Boy Band Loved by Girls the World Over was not Lost on Lance Bass
That said, Bass admitted there was some irony in being in a boy band that was lavished with adoration from girls from around the world.
“You’re living this life and like, ‘OK, this is gonna be fun.’ And it’s right when you’re coming of age and you’re dating for the first time,” Bass said. “I’m like, ‘Oh Lord, I’m gonna have to deal with this. I’m really gonna have to deal with this. And I’m like the most public person in the world right now. Like, how am I supposed to deal with this?’”
Eventually, Bass came out of the closet in 2006. To his surprise, most of his fans and the public in general were supportive. However, he pointed out that the revelation impacted his career in pop music.
“The career definitely changed, and they were right about that. Like, it was definitely a career killer,” he admitted.
Bass Says Coming Out Impacted His Acting Career
He went on to claim that his burgeoning acting career was all but sidelined after coming out.
“I had a sitcom with The CW at the time, and we were about to shoot the pilot and this came out and they were like, ‘We can’t do the show anymore. They have to believe that you’re straight to play a straight character,’” Bass recalled. “And every casting director I knew, they’re like, ‘Lance, we can’t cast you because… you’re too famous for being gay now that they can’t look at you as anything other than that.’”
However, the heat eventually subsided. Bass even says a lot of the very same casting agents who rejected him have since put him in successful projects.
“They’re all kind of like, ‘Yeah, that was really dumb.’ And they’ve actually cast me a lot of things since, which is really funny and ironic,” Bass explained. “But you know, I never hold grudges at all. Like I’m very understanding. Like, I get it. Business is business is business. It sucks, but I never can hold grudges.”