Lance Bass says a “pedophile” inappropriately touched the group NSYNC.
During a discussion on The Meredith Viera Show today, there was a panel discussion on Ashley Judd’s recent comments on sexual harassment in Hollywood, former NSYNC member Lance Bass revealed that as a teenager, “someone” who worked with the group inappropriately touched him.
“This also happens to men, too,” he said. “It has happened to me. When I was 16, 17 years old, and we started, there was someone that we worked with that was inappropriately touching us.”
“I was even aware then, at 16, that this guy was a pedophile,” Bass continued. “He was touching me oddly.”
Lace Bass adds that he didn’t feel “victimized” by the man because he and the other group members would discuss his actions together. “With the guys we would kind of talk about it, joke about, but it’s not a joking thing…I’m glad that we were aware of it and we didn’t feel victimized at the time,” he said.
It is worth pointing out that several men have accused Lou Pearlman, the former manager of NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, among other bands, of sexual harassment in the past. These accounts of sexual harassment are explained in detail in a 2007 Vanity Fair story about Pearlman titled, Mad About The Boys. While Bass didn’t name the pedophile by name, he has previously said that Pearlman touched him and other ‘N SYNC members in the past.
For example, in a interview with The Hollywood Reporter last year, Lance Bass called out Pearlman inappropriately touching the group members. He would “always grab our arms and feel our muscles and go: ‘Hey boys, you workin’ out? Yeahhhh!’”
He pointed out that Pearlman never “crossed that line” with him, but that he heard rumors about him molesting other boys:
We would hear things, for sure. He would always have young boy limo drivers for Trans Continental Records; those limo drivers would always be put into different boy bands. Then I’d hear rumors that he would molest the boys before they would even get into the groups. I don’t know how much of that is true, but to me, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Pearl has denied all allegations of sexual harassment. But, the former boy band manager is currently serving a 25-year sentence for embezzlement. Apparently, in 2006, investigators found that Pearlman created a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of $300 million for over 20 years. Pearlman would convince people to invest in Trans Continental Airlines Travel Services inc. and Trans Continental Airlines Inc., both of which only existed on paper. Pearlman then falsified documents to win investors confidence to secure bank loans.
You can watch Lance Bass’ statements below:
Image Credit: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com
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