The NSYNC member sets the record straight on suggestion that he and bandmates Chris Kirkpatrick, Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, and JC Chasez were wealthier when they were still in the band.
- Apr 28, 2023
AceShowbiz - Lance Bass has bagged "way more" money since NSYNC disbanded than he did when he was in the group. The 43-year-old star - who has launched two production companies and has ventured into acting and presenting since the band split in 2002 - admitted people often assumed he and his bandmates, Chris Kirkpatrick, Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, and JC Chasez, were wealthier than they were but their former manager Lou Pearlman "took all" of their money.
"The worst thing is people thinking that we were rich, because we were not. We were famous, but we were not rich. I made way more money after *NSYNC than I did during *NSYNC. Lou took all of our money," Lance said on SiriusXM's "The Jess Cagle Show".
The Svengali ran a $300 million Ponzi scheme and was later sued by several members of different bands, including the Backstreet Boys, for mismanaging their finances and was ultimately convicted of fraud in 2008.
Lance said of his former manager, who died in jail in 2016, "He really took a majority of all of our stuff… [made] horrible, horrible deals."
But the "Bye Bye Bye" hitmakers were a "great support system" for one another and Lance had an "incredible" time in the band. He said, "To do that, with those guys, it was incredible. And you had some of the best experiences ever."
"Obviously, it changed my life, led me to so many things I wanted to do in life… they're incredible, incredible guy. I'm glad I was in a band because I had four of my brothers that kept you down to earth."
"If you said anything off the wall, they would just slap you down like, 'What did you just say?' But if you're a solo artist, you're always like, 'Yes, yes, yes.' You're the boss. That's it. But with a group, we had a great family unit around us, we were held down to earth."
