Sync and Swim

Lance Bass discusses his memoir Out of Sync

By LAWRENCE FERBER

In the new memoir Out of Sync (Simon Spotlight Entertainment), openly gay former NSYNC member Lance Bass opens the book literally on his professional and personal life, from his induction into NSYNC, the group's liberation from its notorious creator and manager, Lou Pearlman, and Timberlake-motivated split to his first gay experiences and relationships and much ballyhooed coming out in People magazine. Writing-wise, Out of Sync is very much painted in broad strokes. Bass doesn't get very detail-oriented about events and people, steering clear of minutia and fly-on-the-wall observation. He also occasionally sidesteps controversy. Of longtime acquaintance Britney Spears, he writes: “I think she has an amazing and beautiful soul, I've known her since she was a little girl and she is a prime example, I think, of what fame can do to a person.” Currently based in New York, where he plays Corny Collins in the Broadway production of Hairspray, Bass spoke with me by phone.

FRONTIERS: When you came out was anyone like, “Duh!”

LANCE BASS: Well, a lot of people say that but who really knows. It's so easy to be like, of course I knew that, when anyone shares anything shocking. But no one really knew. You can suspect someone [is gay] but nobody really knows until that person tells you.

Were you surprised that Britney Spears' gaydar didn't sniff you out before you told her?

Ummm... I'm pretty sure she knew anyway. She has a huge gay audience, and her dancers and everyone, she's definitely around it. I think she knew but had the respect not to say anything.

“A prime example of what fame can do to a person” is the most diplomatic way of putting Britney's state of affairs I've ever heard.

You have to admit it's entertaining. I always hope she's just doing it as a joke and we're all going to be punk'd in a couple of years. Like, “you know all that stuff I did, it was all a joke!” I think she's been doing this documentary for years, where she's like, “Today I'm going to shave my head and see if they buy it!”

You don't mention Lou Pearlman 'realigning your aura.' Did he ever try to?

No. I read the Vanity Fair article like, wow, it doesn't surprise me that any of that happened and I don't know if it did, but I never saw anything like that. Maybe because we were one of the first bands he had. I know we were only there for a few months in Orlando before we were shipped off to Germany so we didn't get much quality time with Trans Con and Lou.

Will you watch here! TV's Dante's Cove, in which Reichen is co-starring in this season?

I don't think I will be watching. But when I heard he got that I texted him immediately to say congratulations. I think that's amazing.

You mentioned in an interview recently that Justin Timberlake once said he wanted to play a gay part in a movie and that had the rest of “NSYNC thinking he was gay.”

I think in everyone's life you question your friends [sexualities] at some point. You're gonna ask that question, I wonder if they're gay. It doesn't matter if they're straight, whatever. Chris (Kirkpatrick) used to hang out with our choreographer who happened to be gay and we would question each other, “I wonder if he's gay.” And Justin's like, I always wanted to play a gay guy, and to yourself you're like, “I wonder if that means he's gay.” You always have these ignorant thoughts about all of your friends.

Are you currently dating?

I am. I try and keep it as quiet as possible. Some people I date that are a little recognizable, it kind of gets out there and all of a sudden you have a boyfriend you never labeled as a boyfriend. And that ruins your chances of anyone else asking you out! So I try to keep things very quiet. I've been dating someone in particular I'm getting to know a lot better and having a lot of fun.

Is he a chorus boy?

No, not in the business. Thank God!

LIMITED RUN

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON

The political activist and blogger joins Robert Kuttner to discuss his book, The Squandering of America: How the Failure of our Politics Undermines our Prosperity. James Bridge Theater (UCLA). Mon., Nov. 26. 8 p.m. $8. www.booksoup.com.

CLEOPATRA'S NOSE: 39 VARIETIES OF DESIRE

Judith Thurman, longtime New Yorker writer, culls from 20 years of probing and cultural critiques of fashion, its personages, trends and history, to celebrate the lasting significance of its ephemeral qualities. LA LOUD at Central Library. Wed., Nov. 28. 7 p.m. www.lfla.org.

DIANE KEATON

Signs and presents California Romantica with author D.J. Waldie. This book features residential exemplars of California Mission and Spanish Colonial styles by noted architects. Book Soup. Thur., Nov. 27. 7 p.m. $65. www.booksoup.com.

DRESSED: A CENTURY OF HOLLYWOOD COSTUME DESIGN

Deborah Nadoolman Landis explores the lavish costume productions of the 1930s to the extravagance of the 1980s and the blockbusters of the '90s. Barnes & Noble at The Grove. Thurs., Dec. 6. 7:30 p.m. www.barnesandnoble.com.

HOMO MUST

RIGHT SIDE OF THE WRONG BED

From the author of Down for Whatever, Frederick Smith delivers a novel that explores the sexy and sensational dynamics of young gay men, big cities, romance and opposites attracting. A Different Light Bookstore. Wed., Nov. 28. 7:30 p.m. www.adlbooks.com.

ON BOOKSHELVES

Nureyev: The Life

Julie Kavanagh
(Pantheon Books, $37.50, hardcover)

***

In this exhaustive biography the author takes on ballet star Rudolph Nureyev—from his birth in Russia in 1938 to his 1993 death from AIDS in a Paris hospital. Even with a lot of help, it was Nureyev's drive combined with an arrogant belief in his own talent that got him to the top of his profession. He sprang from an obscure peasant background to gain sensational attention while at Leningrad's Kirov Ballet, then achieved world fame following his defection from the Soviet Union in 1961. Selfish, moody in a classic Russian mode, he was viewed as an exotic animal both on and off stage, offering a volatile mix of masculinity and femininity. Even though aggressively sexual as a (mostly) gay man, he formed deep maternal attachments to many women, especially dancing partner Margot Fonteyn. He stayed too long at the ball, however, declining in his later years into a pale shadow of himself in his prime. The author has many fascinating tales to tell about Rudi, although the inclusion of just about every step, every spat with friends and enemies becomes confusing and redundant to all but dedicated balletomanes. Still, her research pays off in a well balanced and engrossing look at one of the 20th century's greatest performers. —HARRY EUGENE BALDWIN

More Than Eyes Can See

A nine-month journey through the AIDS pandemic
Rhidian Brook
(Marian Boyars, $17.95, trade paperback)
**

When I first started this personal survey of how an NGO (non governmental organization) like the Salvation Army deals with the AIDS pandemic in Africa and Asia, I was tempted to shred it. The author's arrogant naiveté leads him to make insensitive comments about the living conditions, even smells of the poor regions he visits. He dogmatically insists that only Faith (Christian God variety) makes the big difference in successful treatments. He constantly wonders why men seek sex outside a heterosexual monogamous relationship (but never bothers to interview any infected males), deciding simplistically that men are the core problem, making him sound like a visitor from another planet—a rigid, judgmental one. However, as he observes one heartbreaking scene after another, his initial superiority morphs into self-criticism informed by deeper understanding. He begins to get how it's not just throwing down a lot of money from above, but forming local bonds, helping one another's neighbors and friends (whether in tribal Africa or in a Los Angeles gay community we might add) which transcends moralistic policies and makes the difference. As Brook defines it: “The world is in very bad shape but it's being held together by small acts of kindness.” That larger point of view of the global pandemic is what makes this book finally worth reading. —H.E.B.