Former 'NSYNC member Lance Bass popped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote his memoir Out of Sync (opening sentence: "I've known I was different ever since I was five years old. For one thing, I had what I guess you could call innocent crushes on boys."). He relayed, for an extremely gay-curious Kimmel, the story of how he came out to Britney Spears back in 2004:

[Lance Bass et al at New York City's Club Butter, celebrating the 24th birthday of Bass's boyfriend, Ben Thigpen, Jan 7; image via INF]

It was Saturday, March 24th at 10:50 p.m. Ken Derry, an aspiring writer and head of publications for the Yankees, was surrounded by a group of teenagers. They attacked him, twice! Derry's assailants punched his face in and even pushed his girlfriend. But it wasn't that bad a night, in the end. For one thing, as he writes, he got a published story out of it!

Last night at a David Kuhn-thrown party at Hotel QT, (more later) we ran into Patrick Price, who was Lance Bass's editor Simon Schuster editor Out of Sync: A Memoir. You can look it up, he is the 66th person thanked (after "all my buddies at NASA," God and Jamie Lynn Sigler). Price is a smart looking petite gay man. Bass is the lesbian from 'N Sync who wanted to be an astronaut. So how was working with young Mr. Bass? There was a long pause and a 'how do I say this without getting fired' look: "I mean it's very much Lance Bass. It's very unfiltered." To wit: "We had such starlight in our eyes, we believed we were going to blow everybody away. Then the final votes came back and it turned out we'd lost—to a girl who was deaf!" [Page 10] But more important were questions of the future, not the past. Would there be a Out of Sync Two (perhaps even titled A Life Lived Bass Ackwards?). Price smiled shiftily: "Well, his life continues. There might be a volume two!"

We know better than to get between an ugly gay divorce, particularly that of singer (that's what he does, right?) Lance Bass and his fame-hungry reality TV star ex, Reichen Lehmkhul, but when they take their bickering out of the privacy of the Crunch cardio room, where most Gays have the decency to work out their personal issues, and decide to splash them across the pages of major publications and MySpace blogs, like it or not, their problems become our problems. According to Reality Blurred, the latest round began with a interview in the current GQ in which Lance blamed the break-up on Reichen's infidelities, saying, "I thought [at the time], 'Why does everyone hate him?" At the end, I was like, 'Ok, everyone was right.'" Star Magazine then reported that Bass was sent a letter in which he threatened to sue. Lehmkhul clarified the issue on his MySpace page yesterday:

Publicist Ken Sunshine perhaps needs to take a small vacation? In response to questions about a claim his client Lance Bass made in an interview about having been married in Vegas seven years ago (to a woman), Sunshine said that Bass had in fact, never been married and replied: "By saying he was married in Vegas, it was a way to get free drinks." Way to quash those barely-at-bay rehab rumors.

Oh noes! The gays are giving Lance Bass' memoir "Out of Synch" a bad review! Apparently the book is full of "ego-stroking and cattiness" and THEY DON'T LIKE THAT, the gays. (Um?) [After Elton]

Not only does Village Voice gossip Michael Musto mention barebacking twice in this week's column, but, the following pickup line actually worked on him last week: "You're lovely. I want you to ride me all night. Why are we still here?" (See? Didn't even have to use a neg!) Last we saw Mr. Musto—last night, leaving Lance Bass's book party at 8:53 p.m. (the party started at 8:00, Lance arrived at 8:20), he was in the company of a young hottie. Is our Musto the new gay mack daddy? The boy was saying "I have about 15 drink tickets left!" Young and thirsty, just the way we like 'em too!

• Oops, that snowboarder named Riley who Lindsay Lohan had a rehab romance with was already engaged to someone else. [Us Magazine]
  

For a brief glimpse of a moment last week we genuinely liked Lance Bass. He'd just given an interview with New York mag's party hobbit Jada Yuan in which he A) bitched accurately about the NY real estate market B) dissed astutely Justin Timberlake's new restaurant and C) copped admirably to being the worst dancer in 'N Sync. "I've been a few times," he said about Southern Hospitality. "But it's really up there. The Upper East Side? I'm not in college anymore." Now Bass claims that he said no such things and he's demanding a retraction.

Excellent news, people. Lance Bass, who refers to himself as LBeezy, writes on his MySpace blog that "Howdy!! I just got the cover from my publisher of my book! It is under my pics because I dont know how to post it here. And since we are on the subject I just want to say I do not want my book to flop! One funny night I decided to "jokingly" say "oh it will probably flop" to a TMZ "reporter". (like all my quotes?) Again it was a joke. Im not an idiot— I wrote this book so that it might help those out there interested in the music industry, space, and/or coming out storit?y." So many topics!! How will the bookstores know where to shelve this one? (Hint: "space.")

LanceSpace [via Towleroad]

Heatherette's fantastical, Tinsley Mortimer-studded voyage to the Life Ball in Vienna occurred over Memorial Day weekend, as James Kurisunkal and his email aliases so reliably informed us, but it's taken the Post's Brian Niemietz until now to recover from the festivities enough to tell us about them. And oh, what a Ball it was!

• E! offers Dina Lohan the chance to screw up her remaining kids for your viewing pleasure. [Page Six]
  

Very bad news! Fans of Jon Bon Jovi will have to wait "indefinitely" to read the "never-before-told stories of Jon's experiences as a screen actor, as well as insights into his commitment to social and political causes; and behind-the-scenes descriptions of the songwriting sessions that gave birth to some of the greatest hits of the modern era" in his bio, Believe, which has been "postponed" by Random House imprint Flying Dolphin Press. But it gets worse: The book's unreadiness for publication means that Bon Jovi won't play their hotly anticipated Book Expo America benefit concert (sharing a bill with Amy Grant! Baby, baby!). Still there's hope: if a new headliner can be arranged, the BEA allows that the show might be able to go on. "Our minds are very open," their event planner tells Bookslut. In that case! How about the author of the soon to be classic Out Of Sync? Yes, Lance Bass comes out (har) in October.



BEA Forced To Cancel Bon Jovi Concert [Galleycat]

Former boybander Lance Bass, who not-shocked the world with an announcement of his gayitude this past summer, has just sold a memoir to classy S&S imprint Simon Spotlight Entertainment. It's called Out Of Sync, and it's "a 'candid' book about his life, his music, and his life as a gay man." We like the concept, but frankly, we think the title needs some work! Here are a few of our suggestions. We implore you to leave yours in the comments.

Reichen Lehmkuhl, the Amazing Race winner and aspiring actor who managed to hush all the naysayers with his laudable, recent turn on Days of Our Lives as a bartending amateur detective hot on the trail of a missing cellphone, is once again making self-induced headlines with comments he made regarding the recent coming out of How I Met Your Mother's Neil Patrick Harris—coining a new word in the process:

With our minds already wrapped around the sweet, salty release of half-price Cadillac margaritas, we very nearly let this little tidbit get by us: Like the fat girl in high school you could always confide in, People magazine is once again the go-to source for young Hollywood actors looking to come out of the closet:

• A celebrity is openly doing lines while wearing a dirty brown shirt. Fine. But smelling like drugs? That's just tacky. [Hotel Chatter]
• Lance Bass goes on a gay date with his gay boyfriend. Because he is gay. [TMZ]
• Literary journal n+1 successfully raises $3,000 to give to thief. [NY Sun]
• Comedian earns spot in NY Post's list of "25 Sexiest New Yorkers." Which makes sense, as he has been running through our mind of Mencia all day. [The Apiary]
• Hurricane Ernesto leaves devastating puddle in its wake. [One Park Reality]
• The originator of the Valerie Plame leak steps forward. Not Karl Rove or Dick Cheney, yet still very, very ugly. [NYT]
• Elizabeth Spiers' racy tell-all about the founding of Gawker omits the sexy scene where she and Nick Denton meet at a Metafilter party. [BeE Magazine]

· The WOW Report is all over Lindsay Lohan's next move should that angry letter from her producer hurt her future career prospects.
· The Franklin Avenue blog discovers what happens when Lost's producers get sloppy with the details: they have Hurley shrug it off. Sometimes a washing machine is just a washing machine, and not a Hanso Foundation conspiracy to drive people in the hatch crazy.
· AP entertainment editor writes headline, "Movie Prompts Barrymore to Take Up Poker," retrieves loaded revolver from desk drawer, blows brains out.
· More "Lance Bass used to pretend to be straight" hilarity: Giggle knowingly as Sharon Osbourne watches Bass shower and tries to set him up with her daughter.
· For that special lady in your life, Gawker's "Hot Piece of Twat" t-shirt.

• The Lance Bass DVD Collection [DVD NewsRoom]