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Bass caught between success and identity
media.www.universitychronicle.com
4.10.08
Most of the media attention 'N Sync band member Lance Bass has been getting since the initial and progressive success of the band has been due to his announcement in July 2006 to People Magazine that he is gay
.While Bass' sexuality should be the last item on the list of information people want to know about him, it seemed to be the most wanted explanation during his lecture Tuesday night in Halenbeck Hall at SCSU.
The lecture was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., but began shortly after 7:45 and included in the two-hour session was a lecture, question and answer time slot and a book signing.
Bass visited SCSU to promote his book, "Out of Sync," and discuss his preparation in Russia for space and his experience as a gay male in the midst of success in the band 'N Sync. Bass answered each question proposed to him in a confident and surprisingly casual demeanor.
Raised in two parts of Mississippi, Bass said he grew up in a small town where no one in the entertainment industry came to perform. He said he grew up as a sports fan initially and was introduced to music when he moved to southern, central Mississippi.
"I didn't have much inspiration to be in the entertainment industry mostly because I was unfamiliar with it," Bass said. "I got into it by singing at church and by having a best friend who sang."
When he was 16-years-old, Bass received a phone call from a then 14-year-old Justin Timberlake who asked him to be the bass vocalist for a band he was putting together. The offer stemmed from Bass and Timberlake sharing the same vocal coach.
Bass said he flew to Orlando the next day, believing it would at least be a nice trip to Disney World, but expected nothing more.
"I ended up falling in love with the guys and it was amazing," Bass said. "We just hit it off and it just hit me that this is what I'm going to do the rest of my life."
Bass said the band's biggest goal right off the bat was to perform at Universal Studios or Disney World. He said their first year was really slow while they sat on an independent record label in Orlando.
"We had done Mickey Mouse club, which is where we got our initial fan base, and we thought things were going to really take off but no one wanted to sign us to a record label," Bass said.
'N Sync belonged to Transcontinental Records, owned by Lou Pearlman. Pearlman is now in jail for embezzlement of $300 million.
Coincidentally, it was the same label the Backstreet Boys belonged to. Bass said he can now admit he likes the Backstreet Boys, but was indirectly competing with them in the beginning.
'N Sync did a lot of performances, but still did not produce any record label offers. A German record label made the first offer and 'N Sync went with it.
"We spent a couple of years in Munich perfecting our craft because we were not good," Bass said. "We learned a lot about the crazy music industry as we were being flown everywhere and taken to fancy dinners and had limos everywhere. We had a little crash course lesson on the entertainment industry after we learned everything they gave us had to be paid back."
Bass said the band came back to America and did a Disney special but didn't expect anything to happen from it.
He said the band even questioned if they wanted to do it, but was glad they did when it ended up getting air time three times a day. It was then the band surpassed the Backstreet Boys, stunning them all.
"It was such a great moment for us," Bass said. "Throughout the next touring years, I was such a fan of everyone and we got to do a lot of amazing things that I had never even dreamed of doing."
SPACE TRAINING
Bass received a call from his manager with news that a producer wanted him to go to space and film a documentary to go along with it in Russia.
"From one big dream to another, I couldn't believe this was happening. Because it was my dream to go to space, I thought it must have meant I was being punk'd by Ashton Kutcher, but sure enough, it was true," Bass said.
The space program Bass attended in Moscow required him to be put through a four-day, extensive physical examination, which he said was very different from NASA.
"It wasn't fun, but I found out I had an irregular heartbeat, which I went to Boston to get fixed. They took metal rods and put them through my arteries to study my heart and they burned certain places," Bass said. "It didn't feel good at all. I spoke no Russian at this time at all so I had no clue what was going on."
Bass had a translator throughout the experience. He said during an appointment he endured an endoscopy followed by a colonoscopy, as the doctor used the same instrument.
He said he had tears rolling down his face because it hurt so badly. He said he noticed the doctors laughing and asked for clarity from his translator."I asked my translator why they were laughing and he said, 'They know now that you're not gay,'" Bass said. "After that, I went into the training without anyone to experience it. Toward the end of my training, about a month before the launch, one of the rockets that held the clothes and experiments blew up on the launch pad, which scared the producers of the documentary we were working on."
Following the explosion, the producers could not get insurance to back the trip, so the entire mission got scrapped. Bass said he was devastated, but stayed to complete his training.
"Even though I couldn't go then, I'm definitely going to go one day for sure," Bass said.
ON BEING GAY
"My whole life I knew I was gay," Bass said. "It's just something you know, but it's something I also knew I would have to hide because the business tells you not to even be seen with a girlfriend or with a beer in your hand. If you're gay, you're definitely not going to say anything about it."
Bass said it was when the band members took a break (what was supposed to be a few months but later turned into an extended break) that he actually started thinking about his life, relationships and love, and how they were in front of him. He said he had been so busy before that he didn't have time to face any of these issues.
"After a few months I started meeting people, but had to keep my relationships secret, which totally sucked," Bass said. "I wish I would have been able to come out earlier."
Bass said as crushing as it was to hear there would be no 'N Sync album in the near future (because Justin Timberlake had put out a solo album that garnered him huge success), the other part of him thought now was the time for him to be true to himself and not worry about what other people thought.
"A few months later, I became more relaxed with dating and I began telling my friends I was gay. People talk and rumors began floating around, but I was thinking 'who cares anymore,'" Bass said. "I went to a small town in Rhode Island and photographers had taken some pictures of me with another man. I began getting phone calls from magazines saying they were going to run a story that I was gay. I had 24 hours to decide whether or not I wanted to come out to the world."
Bass said his family did not know he was gay at the time. He also said when he told his family, they were very understanding and he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
SITTING DOWN WITH LANCE BASS
With your experience with the media essentially outing you, what are your thoughts on the outing issue in media?
I don't think it's anyone's business to out anyone. I think everyone should do it on their own terms and time because everyone's an individual.
Everyone has to deal with it on their own. It was a blessing in disguise for me though because it really pushed me into an area where I needed to be personally in my life, but still I think it's not good to publicly out someone.
Is there resentment built up toward the media?
No, not at all. The media has always been good to me. I've never had a problem where they've just attacked me so I have no problem with them whatsoever. I know they are just doing their job.
How did the People Magazine article come about? Did they contact you and say they were going to run the story regardless of if you agreed to it or?
They did contact me. They wanted to do the story. They knew what was up, they knew the truth and they wanted to make sure I told my story in a positive way.
I felt like that would be the perfect way to do it with such a magazine that was respectful. I think they did a great job.
You mentioned during tonight's presentation this fear celebrities have about coming out in Hollywood, has your experience nullified those fears? Have you suffered consequences like you thought you would?
No, I thought it would be a lot worse. I think it has all been positive. There is always going be that role they are never going to give me because of how public my outing was, but that's business and unfortunately that's their views and their choice also because producers and casting directors do it for people who watch the movies.
But that's changing, right now though there are so many great actors and musicians that are being themselves and admitting to everyone they are gay and it's not affecting their career at all.
Do you think that landscape is changing in Hollywood? Is it from seeing a lack of negative media attention?
Oh, definitely. I think the biggest fear for any artist is that backlash of negativity because they don't want to be stereotyped into what everyone thinks is a gay stereotype. I know tons of actors and musicians who haven't come out because they are still dealing with those issues.
Do the media know who is gay and who is not?
No one knows anything. They can speculate and guess, but unless you have a picture of someone doing something to prove it, it's hard to say.
Do the media pick and choose who they out?
I think they pick and choose their battles, but I also think if they are going to out someone, it has to be a story for them and something that's going to get attention for their outlet.
I don't think they are going to target any particular person, but if there are rumors about someone, they are going to investigate and find out as much as they can.
How has your interaction with the media changed since you came out?
There is a lot more paparazzi following me around because I guess it was such a big deal. Truthfully, it has been bad with gossip and paparazzi everywhere just in the last couple of years.
You see those roles in entertainment always start strong and then fizzle away. It can be crazy.
In light of the paparazzi explosion, especially with Britney Spears highlighting it, how do you deal with it?
You just try to lead as much of a normal life as you can and know when you go out, you are going to be photographed.
It sucks to know every move you make is going to be scrutinized. I think it's sad and also especially worse for women celebrities because they tear women apart for their weight.
Do you think they treat gay celebrities differently?
No, I don't think so. I think it's a very touchy issue for media. If there is any outlet out there that would do anything remotely negative toward the gay community, I think they would be chastised. I think they really do watch out for that.
Do you ever wish you could revert back to a low-key lifestyle without paparazzi following you everywhere?
Of course there are days when you wish you could just go be yourself when no one identifies you, but there are places you can go. I went to Sydney for the last six weeks and they knew who I was but they were just way laid back and cool about it.
I didn't take maybe but two pictures my entire trip so I mean there are places you can go and just get peace and feel like your old self again.
Comments (0) 04.14.2008. 18:22