Last night at Citrine on West 21st Street, the former boy-band idol and Dancing With the Stars contestant Lance Bass (sporting a cargo jacket, gelled hair and faded loose-fit jeans), was surrounded by a small crowd of tan and buff partygoers who were there to toast him on the occasion of his third-place finish in the dancing competition.
After courteously posing for photos with a gaggle of thirtysomething female fans-who had slipped into the giggly exuberance of their youth-the former boy-band idol, who famously came out on the cover of People magazine in July 2006, was glad to talk about what had changed since the 1990s, when he was a member of ‘N Sync. "Sure, it was a relief to come out," Mr. Bass, who is 29, told the Daily Transom.
Was it painful to be a closeted teen sex symbol? "It wasn’t hard because we were so busy. I never had anything like a personal life," he said. Jiggling his cocktail in his hand, he added, "There were girls that I thought loved, that I did love but I knew along it wasn’t me. I’m just lucky to be so busy that I didn’t have to think about it.
Was Mr. Bass angry that Proposition 8, banning gay marriage in California, had been passed? "Of course, I think everyone is," said Mr. Bass, who lives in Los Angeles. "They’re all coming out of the woodwork now that it’s too late, of course. Looking at it, it’s like, wow, are we still in the 1940s?"
The Daily Transom asked him if he was mad enough to move. "No, I love it still, but actually, I am moving to New York soon, I’m going to be bi-coastal!" he answered with a bright smile. "We’re going to be the next state to have gay marriage, anyway." Which one? "Oh, California. I would get married wherever the hell I pleased though. It’s a decision between me and God."
The Daily Transom approached the table where a black-clad Brooke Burke, who won the latest DWTS competition, was sitting quietly with her tanned fiancé David Charvet and some friends. (Mr. Bass called the ex-Maxim cover girl his best friend on the show.) Mr. Charvet-a Franco-American who was on Baywatch and has two children with Ms. Burke-didn’t want to be bothered. "Brooke’s been doing press since five, she’s done bro, done," he told us.
A much friendlier gentleman with slicked back hair, red Ray Bans and a white cardigan was doing the robot alone at the bar. He introduced himself to the Transom as Ben Andrews, one of the stars in gay art-porn impresario Michael Lucas‘s troupe. "Lance is fun we’ve hung out in Hiro-you know the club?" he said. "I wasn’t surprised when…oooh, yeah. Lady Gaga!"
Mr. Andrews pointed to the DJ booth and broke out into some jerky dance moves. He lurched to a stop and picked up where he had left off. "Lance came out, but my sisters were so excited, they were like go get ‘em."
Is Mr. Bass cool with porn stars? Mr. Andrews shrugged nonchalantly and smiled, "I don’t know. We haven’t hung out in, like, a year."
