Lance Bass Wants to Host Gay 'Bachelor' Season - Variety

Contents:

• THERE’S ALREADY BEEN A GAY ‘BACHELOR’-TYPE SHOW, AND IT WAS ESRTED OFF AIR AFTER JT ONE SEASON
• COLTON UNRWOOD, THE FIRST GAY ‘BACHELOR,’ CONONTS HIS CONTROVERSIAL COMG OUT
• COLTON UNRWOOD, FIRST ‘BACHELOR’ STAR TO E OUT AS GAY, SAYS HE WAS BLACKMAILED
• ‘BACHELOR’ FANS MAND GAY SEASON AMID COLTON UNRWOOD’S G OUT
• THERE’S ALREADY BEEN A GAY ‘BACHELOR’-TYPE SHOW, AND IT WAS ESRTED OFF AIR AFTER JT ONE SEASON
• BACHELOR ALUM COLTON UNRWOOD COM OUT AS GAY ON GMA: ‘I RAN FROM MYSELF FOR A LONG TIME’ (WATCH)
• IT’S TIME FOR AN ACTUALLY GAY SEASON OF THE BACHELOR ALREADY
• FANS WANT A GAY 'BACHELOR' SEASON WH COLTON UNRWOOD, BUT 'S NOT THE RIGHT MOVE. HERE'S WHY
• ‘BACHELOR’ STAR COLTON UNRWOOD REVEALS HE’S GAY EMOTNAL ‘GMA’ INTERVIEW
• THERE’S A NEW GAY BACHELOR SHOW: GET THE DETAILS ON LANCE BASS’ ‘FDG PRCE CHARMG’!

THERE’S ALREADY BEEN A GAY ‘BACHELOR’-TYPE SHOW, AND IT WAS ESRTED OFF AIR AFTER JT ONE SEASON

In realy, there’s already been a gay “Bachelor”-type show — “Fdg Prce Charmg. ”Thirteen gay men moved to a mansn to try to w the affectns of a handsome eligible bachelor, terr signer Robert Sepuvelda Jr. Former ‘NSYNCer Lance Bass played the Chris Harrison-que Read: Billy Eichner to Colton Unrwood 2019: 'Maybe You're the First Gay Bachelor and We Don't Even Know' (Vio)In the end, Sepulveda chose hairstylist Eric Leonardos as his guy.

“Fdg Prce Charmg” was not whout ntroversy, though, but not for s gay filmg and jt prr to s premiere, reports emerged that Sepulveda had prevly been a sex worker. ” Unrwood has been filmg a realy TV seri for Netflix about his journey g out as a gay origal story There’s Already Been a Gay ‘Bachelor’-Type Show, and It Was Esrted Off Air After Jt One Season At TheWrap. Colton Unrwood didn’t plan on ever tellg the world that he was gay.

“I’ll jt say , ” Unrwood reveals on a recent afternoon, still adjtg to his new life as an openly gay man. Acrdg to him, last year, while livg Los Angel, he secretly vised a spa known for terg to gay clientele. At one time, g out of the closet was emed a reer killer, but shows like “The Real World, ” “Survivor” and the origal “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, ” now rebooted on Netflix, led to a profound, posive transformatn how gay people are perceived, and helped brg about progrsive chang to LGBTQ civil rights.

COLTON UNRWOOD, THE FIRST GAY ‘BACHELOR,’ CONONTS HIS CONTROVERSIAL COMG OUT

As new generatns of lennials and Gen Zers have grown up wh LGBTQ iends and role mols, gay Amerins have attaed the right to marry, and queerns has bee more mastream media, as proven shows like HBO’s high school h “Euphoria” and sentially half of the characters the Ryan Murphy universe. A gay “Bachelor, ” though? His announcement that he was gay cid wh news that he was filmg a Netflix realy show about his new life.

And others legimately argued that as a hunky whe gay man, he was benefg om privilege, takg a platform that other members of the queer muny served more than he did. “If you’re gay, be gay!

“I had never seen a football player that had ma to the NFL that had been gay, growg up Catholic. “I’ve had hundreds of gay Christian men and women who are nfed their walk wh J say, ‘I felt closer to God when I me out. “I never want people to thk that I’m g out to change the narrative, or to bsh over and not take rponsibily for my actns, and now that I have this gay life that I don’t have to addrs my past as a straight man, ” Unrwood says.

COLTON UNRWOOD, FIRST ‘BACHELOR’ STAR TO E OUT AS GAY, SAYS HE WAS BLACKMAILED

Cled to ment for this story, or answer qutns about whether there have been discsns about velopg a gay season of “The Bachelor. Realy TV has the power to change mds, showsg unrreprented muni to sectns of the untry who might not e across gay, bisexual or transgenr people their everyday liv. The number of high-profile gay love stori at the movi — among them, the Hulu romantic edy “Happit Season” and 2017 Sundance darlg “Call Me by Your Name” — remas small.

It’s rare to see a full-fledged gay love story, or hts of gay romance, on a realy TV show. When Lance Bass, who is openly gay, appeared on the program 2008, he was paired wh a female partner.

Unrwood’s faced mons as a closeted gay man. For Unrwood, growg up Washgton, Ill., wh a populatn of 15, 000, there were no gay role mols.

‘BACHELOR’ FANS MAND GAY SEASON AMID COLTON UNRWOOD’S G OUT

“We had one gay person my entire town, ” Unrwood says.

Though he felt that he was different at the age of 6, Unrwood never got the chance to teract wh gay people. “I would have done anythg to see a gay football player, ” he says, gettg choked up. He ed a iend’s Blockbter rd to rent the movie, so that no one his fay would spect him of beg gay.

“Gay porn was sort of what I gravated towards, ” Unrwood adms, clenchg his jaw.

THERE’S ALREADY BEEN A GAY ‘BACHELOR’-TYPE SHOW, AND IT WAS ESRTED OFF AIR AFTER JT ONE SEASON

At the time, Unrwood nied beg gay to his father. He remembers that when Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player drafted by the NFL 2014, no one the locker room supported the ia.

Their homophobia only drove him eper to the closet.

BACHELOR ALUM COLTON UNRWOOD COM OUT AS GAY ON GMA: ‘I RAN FROM MYSELF FOR A LONG TIME’ (WATCH)

“Growg up sports, I was tght that gay is wrong and gay is bad and football players are not gay, ” Unrwood says.

“By the time I realized that I was gay, I didn’t want to be gay. ’” Unrwood says of his gay enunters.

IT’S TIME FOR AN ACTUALLY GAY SEASON OF THE BACHELOR ALREADY

But producers have ma sure not to jt foc on whe privileged gay men. In the seri, Unrwood will explore his posn of privilege, partly thanks to Kenworthy, who is featured by his si as someone who n relate to Unrwood’s experience, as a gay athlete who me out the spotlight.

“He’s been somebody that I’ve not only learned so much om, but he’s held me acuntable and he’s allowed me to see the privilege of beg a straight-prentg gay, whe man, ” Unrwood says of Kenworthy.

“Here he is, a cisgenr whe man who out as gay, and he gets a show, ” says Garcia. He wish his son wouldn’t live his entire life the public eye, but he se the impact his Netflix seri may have on fai who abandon their children for beg gay.

FANS WANT A GAY 'BACHELOR' SEASON WH COLTON UNRWOOD, BUT 'S NOT THE RIGHT MOVE. HERE'S WHY

“My dad is proud to say that he is a nservative Republin, and he is also proud to say, I have a gay son, ” Unrwood says. " The show's stg ll is askg for both men and women — a first for the entire anchise Unrwood beme the first openly gay man Bachelor Natn April Unrwood.

It was dropped that April 2021, Unrwood me out as gay durg an terview on "Good Morng Ameri. "This mak him the first former lead to be part of the LGBTQ muny, and the first gay male volved wh the Burt me out as bisexual durg "Bachelor Paradise, " and she later proposed to her girliend durg the Burt. Colton Unrwood, the first star of “The Bachelor” anchise to e out, says he was blackmailed before he announced last month that he is gay.

‘BACHELOR’ STAR COLTON UNRWOOD REVEALS HE’S GAY EMOTNAL ‘GMA’ INTERVIEW

Variety, which has an exclive terview, says Unrwood “secretly vised a spa known for terg to gay clientele.

Unrwood nfirmed to Variety that he has a Netflix seri the works about his g-out journey, wh fellow gay athlete G Kenworthy actg as his ially praised for his cisn to e out, Unrwood, 29, has weathered his fair share of ntroversy, cludg allegatns of appearg as a nttant on “The Bachelorette, ” he was st “Bachelor Paradise” (both 2018), where he had a flg wh fellow nttant Tia Booth.

He also received support, cludg om celebri such as Billy Eichner, who had prevly told him durg a gut appearance on “The Bachelor”: “Maybe you’re the first gay Bachelor, and we don’t even know. “I never want people to thk that I’m g out to change the narrative, or to bsh over and not take rponsibily for my actns, and now that I have this gay life that I don’t have to addrs my past as a straight man, ” Unrwood said.

THERE’S A NEW GAY BACHELOR SHOW: GET THE DETAILS ON LANCE BASS’ ‘FDG PRCE CHARMG’!

Could there be a gay season of “The Bachelor? “Ok let’s see a gay Bachelor season, ” wrote one Twter er rponse to the news.