Lance Bass reflects on his Hollywood journey, and how his career took a hit after he came out as gay, costing him a CW pilot. The NSYNC musician came out as gay in 2006, during an interview for People cover story. At the time, the star, who was then dating model and actor Reichen Lehmkuhl admitted to feeling more liberated than ever after sharing a truth he's held on to for years for fear of ruining his career and that of his bandmates. Lance explained how rumors about his sexuality had begun affecting his daily life, prompting him to finally come clean on his own terms. While that decision made him finally at peace with himself, his friends, his family, and God, it exposed him to the roughest career phase.
Nearly two decades later, Lance Bass is casting his mind back to the liberating moment he came out, and how it led him to lose a CW pilot he had in the works. During the Thursday, December 5, 2024 episode of Politickin', the 45-year-old recalled how he had a CW sitcom in the works prior to his big revelation. However, the network abruptly shut it down after revealing his gay status, claiming he couldn't play a straight character while being famous for being gay. He recounted,
"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. Like, they have to believe that you're straight to play a straight character.'"
Going further, Lance Bass recalled how in addition to losing his CW pilot, casting directors made it clear they could not look past his gay status and feared casting him because potential viewers may have a hard time looking at him as anything other than that. Lance admitted he "lost everything" as a result, forcing him to "completely restart and rebrand." With casting directors shunning him and agents unable to make sense of the situation, the actor faced the harsh reality that his career was on the line. He revealed
"They were right about that, it was definitely a career killer. But, not too long after that, I just saw a lot of success stories in entertainment and I love that... it's actually a good thing to be yourself these days."
Thankfully, after surviving that tough moment in his career, and getting axed from his CW pilot, he emerged on the other side stronger, and more fulfilled in his career path. Over time, the entertainment world has become more receptive to his sexuality, making his career smooth sailing. Admittedly, many directors and agents who wrote him off when he first came out have turned back to admit their "really dumb" mistakes. They have since cast him in several roles.
On his part, the musician holds no grudge against those who once shunned him, understanding their choices at the time stemmed from their desires to do what they considered best for the business. Now completely out of the closet and thriving, Lance is ready to embrace himself fully while inspiring thousands of others who may be struggling with coming out, fearing the effect it would have on their careers.