The awkward way NSYNC's Joey Fatone found out Lance Bass was gay

Joey Fatone and Lance Bass brought their stunning athleticism to Battle of the Network Stars, and the two NSYNC stars recalled the awkward moment that Fatone found out Bass was gay. "We were hanging out at a club one time," said Fatone, "and we went back to his house to hang out and party and drink some more. I passed out in his guest bedroom. I woke up at, like, 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. I'm like, 'Damn. I got to go home.' So I went to go to his room. I knock on his door, I open up. And one of his 'friends' was sitting on his lap." The story was all in good fun and Fatone was sure to mention that the two were definitely not naked. Fatone said to them, "Uh, let me know when you're done," before shutting the door and leaving. Although Fat9he had figured out Bass's secret he didn't out his friend because Bass wanted to tell others in his own time. In the 90s it was a lot less easy to be openly gay, especially while in the public eye, but looking back, Bass might have changed a thing or two saying, "If I was giving advice to my 16-year-old self, I would say, 'Go ahead and be yourself right now. Don't worry about what other people think of you or what they say about you.' I wish I would have realized that I was gay at such a young age and been able to be comfortable with it, to tell everyone, because my experience with NSYNC, I think, would have been completely different."