Dark Side of Celebrity

There's no good reason for people to verbally assault Lance Bass. He isn't a divisive public figure or a celebrity villain. And yet, homophobes routinely name-call the openly gay 'N Sync singer and third-place finisher on "Dancing with the Stars."

"Every other day, I get called a 'fag,' and get threatened to be beat up," Bass tells me. "There are still some really, really ignorant people out there."

I ask him, "Are these people really that mean and hateful?"

"Yeah, unfortunately," he says. "This is right to your face."

At what kinds of public spots does this happen to Bass? Nightclubs, for one. But it goes down at any given locale, he says.

"Wherever," Bass, 29, says. "Of course, we live in places that are more tolerant -- L.A., Vegas, those places -- but you go anywhere else, especially outside the country, it's just not as tolerant."

If you aren't aware: Bass hid his sexuality when he was in 'N Sync. He feared coming out, because he thought it might hurt the band's success. A lot of people in the media (as well as Americans everywhere) speculated he was gay. Then in 2006, after 'N Sync had been on hiatus and out of sync with pop culture for a few years, Bass told People magazine he's gay.

He says homophobic slurs are partly what keeps closeted gay people from coming out. In Hollywood, stars also are afraid coming out could hurt their careers, if people stop going to their movies, watching their TV shows and buying their music.

"No one wants to immediately have 80 percent of the world hate you -- that don't understand that subject," Bass says. "It's a very hard decision when you're actually gay, because you know what you're about to face."

He does say gay backlash isn't as bad as it used to be.

"Things have definitely gotten better. But then, there are some really, really scary moments" -- such as those moments when someone calls him a "fag" and physically threatens him in public.

Meanwhile, it's harder for gay stars to stay in the closet. Entertainment media giants such as Perez Hilton are fun reads. They also have been successful to varying degrees in outing Clay Aiken, Lindsay Lohan, T.R. Knight and Neil Patrick Harris.

What does Bass think about this cottage industry of outers?

"I don't think it's fair for anyone to be able to be outed or to do something they're not ready for," he says. "I think to be encouraged to find yourself is completely different than someone just being mean. The tact is awful."

What's more, pop culture institutions, such as "South Park," as funny and philosophically complex as it is, have indoctrinated fans, for a decade, to hear beloved characters say people and things are "gay," meaning something is stupid or lame, rather than homosexual.

The intentions of "South Park's" creators clearly seem to be anti-bigot. But there is a law of unintended consequence. I can attest, as a hard-core online video gamer, kids on Xbox Live regularly mix "South Park" references with derisions of rivals as "fags."

So I ask Bass about that exact scenario.

"It does teach especially the younger generation that it's OK to say those words, and it just makes it more comfortable" for kids to use the slur, he says.

He'd prefer TV shows and movies not use the word. But he cautions against bashing "South Park": "It's hard to see what's gonna effect people, especially in television and film."

As he points out, and most of us are aware, there is this newer nuance to the word to consider -- when it isn't necessarily meant as gay bashing, but as a harsh synonym for "lame."

That is, the devaluing of the word's meaning from slur to mere put-down is largely attributable to the way it's been used by ... "South Park" and Howard Stern, who is a very outspoken gay rights supporter.

"You know, when kids say it, I don't think they really know what it means. They just repeat it. They don't mean it in the context of what it really is," Bass says. "So it's a learning experience. I think people are figuring out, 'Oh, wow, I can't say such things anymore.' "

Well, many people have decided not to say it. Others say "gay" and "fag" as a replacement for "lame." Some gay people say it in certain circumstances. And as Bass finds out "every other day," menacing homophobes still desire to throw down with a "fag" or two.

Doug Elfman's column appears on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Contact him at 702-383-0391 or e-mail him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He also blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.