Can someone tell me WHO Lance Bass is? I seem to have missed out on him entirely.

Why is it once a star comes out they are expected to be a gay moument. Get off their backs. They don't have to do anything. What now they should be holding gay rallies and be at all the gay parades or maybe a public service announcement about it. It's all a publicity stunt anyway. His career was going nowhere and look at him now. Most stars thats when they come out not when their careers are raging hot. Look at Tom Cruise. We need a big star to make the leap but, what is the big deal about coming out anyway. Does it really matter NO!!!!!

Sorry, lonelysound, I missed the last part of your sentence about the space endeavour. My bad. I still don't buy the "management made me!" argument, but at this point, does it really matter?

Nice chatting with you. You should post on the boards more!

Uh... my comment was cut off. But I was just going to say that I can't really respond to 4 or 5 because that's entirely someone's opinion. I don't think Lance judges people who are effeminate or even tries to cast himself away from other gay people, but maybe you do. To each their own.

Also, yes he does have quite a few fans who think he gets a whole lot of unfair criticism for non-important things. The Advocate obviously agrees.

Fair enough, but...

1. He did NOT flit away millions of dollars. If he did, he would have gone to space. He didn't flit away any money, and neither did his sponsors. That's why he was asked to leave the program.

2. Same thing... I still disagree with that, as do many, but everyone is entitled to opinions of who they think is famous.

3. He had no say over coming out, it was entirely the choice of his management team. He said okay, but they made all the arrangements. So, being on the cover of People wasn't his fault.

4

Wow, lonelysound. Who's on whose payroll? You're obviously a Bass fan and I'm, equally obviously, not; so we'll have to agree to disagree. That said,

1. It doesn't matter why Bass didn't go into space. The fact remains that he flitted away millions (20, apparently).

2. I didn't say Reichen was the most recognizable gay man, just "one of the".

3. "He didn't have a choice...." Really? Because a one-week delay in telling the world something they already knew would have made what kind of difference? This makes it sound like he has no mind of his own.

4. Closing the barn door after the ass is out is too little, too late. And believe it--Bass was showing his ass.

5. I understand the whole please-don't-let-me-be-the-only-one thought pattern. I was closeted once myself. Still, his little "joke" reinforced the stereotypes he, as a SAG, so desperately tries to distance himself from. I contend that the only ones shocked by Bass' admission were (possibly) his parents and those who chose not to see.

Still, it doesn't matter. I have no use for him, never have--and this Advocate article will not change that. But I'm glad he still has his fans.

I can respond to springboksfa's questions below:

1. The cost was $20 million, Bass paid about half a million for training. He didn't get to go to space, but he is a NASA certified cosmonaut. Also, it's not his fault that he didn't get to go - there were many financial liabilities with the Russian government that he had no clue about.

2. I wouldn't really call Lehmkuhl "the most recognizable gay men on the planet" (wow, are you on his payroll?) considering the fact that I didn't know who he was before he dated Lance (and neither did 99.9% of mainstream America... they still don't). Not all of us are obsessed with reality shows and the gay club scene. Lance never tried to force anyone back in the closet - it was Reichen's choice to date a closeted celebrity. Many gay men would not want to get involved with that situation. Reichen obviously did.

3. In the book, Bass said his publicist booked the People cover because People is the only tabloid magazine with a late deadline (Tuesday, instead of Monday). Bass's people wanted him to come out as soon as possible. He really didn't have a choice in which magazine to go to.

4. He's retracted all of those statements, if you've done your research. Also, the whole Advocate cover story is about exactly that - that his newbie statements made some people think he was a self-loathing homosexual, thus why some people scorn him.

5. Yeah, he was joking about that too. On The View, he said it's very natural for other guys to wonder if they're the only gay guy in the band, especially when you're feeling confused about your own sexuality, but he never really thought Justin or Chris was gay. He also never said his bandmates were shocked - the book clearly states that they all knew, and he knew that they all knew.

I have a list of reasons why Lance Bass is a joke.

1. He spent how many millions to be the first pop tart in space? And ended up exactly...where?

2. Oh yeah. In the lap of one of the most recognizable gay men on the planet--Reichen Lehmkuhl. While that was one hell of a landing, the fact that Bass thought he could keep his silly ass closeted while dating the Stud of the Decade is laughable and hideous at the same time. Not only was Bass in the closet, he tried to force Reichen back in as well--to keep their relationship hush-hush, ya know.

3. When Bass finally decided he was ready for his close-up, where did he turn? Not to the major gay press, but that insipid People Magazine. Apparently Tiger Beat's cover was already booked?

4. In People Ragazine, Bass went on to describe himself as a "SAG"--a straight-acting gay (man). With those eyebrows, honey? Puhlease! As if that weren't enough, he basically threw the community away, saying that he wasn't interested in being a spokesperson or advocate for our equality.

5. Later, Bass big-mouthed about how his former bandmates all thought each other was gay for some ridiculously stereotypical reason--but of course everyone was "shocked" when he came out. Yeah. I think the Shock-o-Meter registered a .0004 blip, compared to the .0005 Rosie O'Donnell scored when she came out.

I had a very ugly run-in with him at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. When he came out, the only thing it proved is that gay people can be just as big of jerks as straight people, but I already knew that. ;-)

I believe that he's done a great deal for the younger age gay community. Upon his coming out, a multitude of teenage guys who always secretly followed NSYNC came out with him. He was the catalyst and role model that helped these young men face one of the biggest issues of their lives.

He's done his part. I'm sure he'll do more.

lol thats the question. :]