Vanity Fair: Mad About the Boys
Vanity Fair has a very thorough and fascinating account of a true sociopath. It’s the creepy story of the corrupt big daddy behind boy bands…
Until he fled the country in January, accused of embezzling more than $300 million, Lou Pearlman was famous as the impresario behind the Backstreet Boys and ‘NSync. Turns out his investors weren’t the only victims, colleagues reveal: Pearlman’s passion for boy bands was also a passion for boys.
Vanity Fair: Mad About the Boys
Here’s just a snippet that sticks out:
Some, especially the teenagers, shrugged and giggled when he showed them pornographic movies or jumped naked onto their beds in the morning to wrestle and play. Others, it appears, didn’t get off so easily. These were the young singers seen emerging from his bedroom late at night, buttoning their pants, sheepish looks on their faces.
June 1st, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Is this piece homophobic or are you simply talking about how Lou Pearlman used his power and influence to seduce young men (or, as you called them, “boys”) to “play with” him? (The only crime would be if he “played with” young men , with or without their consent, who were younger than seventeen or eighteen or with those who were “of age” without their consent.) There is nothing wrong with a man having consensual sex with young men “of age.” I seriously doubt he “slept” with any truly straight young men or “boys” — regardless of his power.
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:11 pm
I wouldn’t call it homophobic. I was referring to Lou Pearlman’s manipulation of not only these young men but also the corporations that he embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars from. To me, he clearly is a man without a conscience.
June 4th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Whoa. Clyde, did you even read the piece?
Lou Pearlman is clearly a sexual predator. These kids were abused. It’s widely said that Nick Carter was the “chosen one” of the Backstreet Boys to take the abuse on behalf of the group. The group finalized their split from Lou Pearlman when Nick was 18 years old. Finalized — which means that it had been going on for quite awhile before then.
Poor Nick. And none of these guys will ever, EVER reveal what happened to them.