Source: Associated Press via CNN, E! Online
Lance Bass doesn't want others to stay silent as he did. He wants the youth of America to get in sync with sexual tolerance.
So he's made a public service announcement for the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN). The erstwhile 'N Syncer filmed the announcement to urge students to stop the bullying, harassment and discrimination occurring in schools.
[See YouTube video of the announcement at the bottom of this post.]
"Everyday, thousands of students are silenced," Bass says in the spot. "They're silenced by fear, they're silenced for being who they are.
"They're friends, they're classmates, they're brothers, they're sisters, they're gay, they're straight, they're you, they're me."
The PSA, which began its viral distribution earlier today, was made in support of the 11th annual National Day of Silence.
According to the event website, the National Day of Silence, to be observed this year on April 25, "brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. This year’s event will be held in memory of Lawrence King, a California 8th-grader who was shot and killed Feb. 12 by a classmate because of his sexual orientation and gender expression."
Students throughout the country are encouraged to take a vow of silence in protest of the intolerant among them.
"Whoever they are, whatever their backgrounds or beliefs, these students will take action because they believe that the bullying and harassment must end," Bass says in the PSA. "What are you going to do to end the silence?"
"I think it's time for me to stand up ... and help educate, because I'm lucky enough to have been given a voice to be able to talk and grab the attention of people," said the 28-year-old singer, who's gay.
Bass -- who joined 'N Sync in 1995 with Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick -- announced in July 2006 that he's gay. It took him a while to come out. ('N Sync went on hiatus in 2002 and has virtually disbanded now that Justin Timberlake's career has taken off.)
"I was very scared of ruining my four best friends' careers," he told Associated Press in an interview about the PSA. "The ignorance in me thought that if I did reveal that, that our whole life would crash and the group would end because everyone would hate us. But now I see how stupid that was, and I wish I could go back and be able to tell the world who I really was."
As for his involvement in the Day of Silence, Bass said he decided to participate after learning of the King incident.
He told Associated Press that he was inspired to make the PSA when he heard about the classroom shooting of Larry King.
"I heard about Lawrence on the news, and it was just incredible to me that kids that age would have such an issue... with the subject of being gay," he told AP. "It also shows me that these kids don't -- they don't learn [bigotry] on their own. They're being told by older siblings or family members or other fellow students."
Full article: Lance Bass: 'It's time for me to stand up' | CNN (AP)
Lance Bass Speaks Up for Silence | E! Online