Lance Bass says Colton Underwood is facing backlash from the gay community for ‘monetizing the experience’ of coming out.
Colton, 29, publicly came out on Good Morning America on Wednesday and is reportedly filming a Netflix reality show about his life as a gay man.
Lance, who came out as gay in 2006, spoke about The Bachelor star on the latest episode of The Ben & Ashley I. Almost Famous Podcast this week.
He can relate: Lance Bass has spoken out about Colton Underwood and the backlash The Bachelor star has been receiving since he came out on GMA this week
On why he thinks Colton is getting so much backlash online after coming out, the former NSYNC singer explained: ‘This gay community is very diverse, but we can also be very fickle.
‘He’s definitely gonna get a lot of backlash from the community at first. Not the majority, but there is a small percentage of the community that’s just gonna not like the fact that he came out this way, that he’s monetizing the experience.’
He continued, ‘They don’t think he deserves this attention and one of those reasons is, and this is what I experienced when I came out… when you first come out, most people have no clue about the LGBT community.
‘There is a small percentage of the community that’s just gonna not like the fact that he came out this way, that he’s monetizing the experience.’ Lance said. Colton is reportedly filming a Netflix show about his life as a gay man
Lance, who publicly came out in 2006, is pictured with husband Michael Turchin here in November 2019
‘They don’t know what the issues are because they’ve been so separated from that on purpose. So when someone comes out as a public figure, so many people immediately go, “It’s too late.” They don’t like to support it because they don’t feel like you know what you’re talking about yet.
‘But I don’t think Colton is trying to lead that charge of trying to be the spokesperson for the LGBTQ community.’ Lance, 41, added.
The singer said that he could relate to Colton because ‘90% of my fans were women, and they all thought I was straight. I made my money off women and singing about love and using that market. So me coming out, it was scary… cause now everyone is gonna see me as a liar..’
Meanwhile, Colton has no immediate plans to date after coming out as gay.
‘But I don’t think Colton is trying to lead that charge of trying to be the spokesperson for the LGBTQ community.’ Lance, 41, added. Colton is seen here on GMA as he announced that he’s gay
Single: Even though he is out and proud after his GMA special, Colton is single right now and has no plans to change this in the near future, a source told TMZ
Busy: Colton is reportedly busy with his Netflix show and also wants to spend quality time with his family in Denver rather than focus on a relationship right now
Even though he is out and proud after his GMA special, Colton is single right now and has no plans to change this in the near future.
A source told TMZ: ‘Colton isn’t dating anyone now and wasn’t dating anyone before he made his big announcement this week on GMA.’
They added that Colton is busy with his Netflix show and also wants to spend quality time with his family in Denver rather than focus on a relationship right now.
Meanwhile, Colton’s ex, Cassie Randolph, 25 – who he met during his season on The Bachelor and dated after – has broken her silence after his revelation about his sexuality.
Cassie – who recently jetted to the island of Cozumel in Mexico for a getaway – wrote on Instagram: ‘Thank you to everyone for the kind comments and messages.’
She also revealed she is taking a week off from posting on her YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, Colton’s ex, Cassie Randolph, 25 – who he met during his season on The Bachelor and dated after – has broken her silence after his revelation about his sexuality. She accused him of harassing her and filed a restraining order against him after their split last year
After their split, Cassie filed court documents accusing Colton of stalking her, harassing her and planting a tracking device in her car.
Cassie later dropped the restraining order and Colton did not directly address the controversy in his GMA interview but admitted that he had made mistakes.
He said: ‘I would just say that I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart. ‘I’m sorry for any pain and emotional stress I caused. I wish that it wouldn’t have happened the way that it did. I wish that I had been courageous enough to fix myself before I broke anybody else.’