Lance Baas disclosed he lost the CW sitcom as he came out of the closet ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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The 45-year-old actor Lance Bass made the stunning revelation while appearing on Tuesday’s “Politickin’” podcast episode with Gov. Gavin Newsom, Marshawn Lynch, and Doug Hendrickson.
Lance Baas Had to Be Straight to Play a Straight Character
“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,” the former NSYNC member said. He added that the executives told him, “I don’t know what we can do with you now.”
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“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,’” Baas further alleged, adding that he “had to completely just restart and rebrand at that moment.”
Despite the challenges he encountered after revealing his sexuality to the public, the singer expressed that he harbors no resentment about the experience.
Baas shared that the casting directors have remarked on his experience with the CW sitcom, saying, “‘Yeah, that way dumb,’” adding, “They’ve cast me in a lot of things since, which is funny and ironic. But I never hold grudges at all. I get it.”
However, according to Page Six, the sitcom pilot was reportedly canceled before the CW underwent new ownership 17 years ago.
Lance Baas Reflects on His Coming Out
During the ‘Politickin’ episode, Baas also reflected on his coming out, admitting he was undoubtedly confused.
“I was such a young person. And all I knew was NSYNC,” the father of two said. “That was my world, and I was happy that was my world. I thought that would be my world for the rest of my life.”
He continued, “When we decided that the group was no longer, it was very confusing for me because I didn’t know where I belonged and wasn’t setting myself up for success because I was just waiting. It took a while to figure out who I was and where I needed to go.”
“All the examples I’ve ever had of anyone coming out, especially in entertainment, was that it’s a career killer,” he noted.
Baas has been married to actor Michael Turchin since 2014 and starred in the 2000 film ‘Longshot,’ 2001’s ‘On the Line,’ and 2005’s ‘Love Wrecked.’
