Just days after Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson’s unplanned reunion on a flight, he’s talking about old memories. Older memories.
In the ’90s, his boy band went on tour for the first time.
At the time, the record label gave them a guide to the age of consent laws in every state.
Lachey admits that, in retrospect, that sounds shady as heck. And he’s right!
‘This is going to sound super shady’
Lachey is part of the new ID documentary, Boy Band Confidential.
Produced by Joey Fatone of *NSYNC fame, this is a retrospective look at what life was really like for members of the most famous boy bands — and some bands that the world has largely forgotten.
These days, most of us think of Lachey as Jessica Simpson’s ex. And he is!
But he, alongside Jeff Timmons, Justin Jeffre, and Drew Lachey (his brother), comprised the boy band, 98 Degrees.
And, when they first went on tour in 1999, they had a helpful yet “shady” guide. Just in case.
“This is going to sound super shady,” Lachey admits, “but when we first went out, I remember our first tour, someone at the label gave us a book.”
He continued: “And it was the age of consent in every state in the country.”
(As appalling as different laws in different countries already is in our world, different laws in different states is somehow even worse. And yes, age of consent laws vary widely.)
“And, like, we kept that book on the tour bus,” Lachey admitted.
He explained the safeguard, claiming: “Unfortunately, there were people out there looking to tear you down.”
There’s a point where excessive familiarity with the law is … suspicious
Up until that line suggesting that people were out to get 98 Degrees in the ’90s, Lachey’s admission makes sense.
Yes, we know — having a creepy knowledge of age of consent from state to state is usually a red flag.
(Knowing the age of people you’re sleeping with is good and smart. Knowing the minimum age that someone can be for a legal hookup in 50 states and beyond is a predator’s mindset, even if no laws are broken.)
However, the boy band members ages were 21 at the youngest and 24 at the oldest in 1999.
Most of the time, 21-year-olds do not really end up socializing in person with anyone under 18. But, if they do, they should at least know whether or not they’re committing a crime.
Laws regarding age of consent should exist, because 18 as a hard cutoff creates nonsensical injustices.
To be blunt, two high school students should not have to break up just because one of them had a birthday.
At many high schools, it is common for students of different grades to share classes, to socialize, and to date. (And this applies to other situations, like workplaces, where minors and adults may share spaces.)
People who are just a few years apart dating, when one is an adult and another is a minor, is not inherently predatory. But someone who is predatory might take advantage of these laws in order to pursue inexperienced teens.
Something can be entirely legal and entirely creepy at the same time.
Obviously, ‘Boy Band Confidential’ covers much more than that small anecdote
Boy Band Confidential premieres on Roku on Monday, April 13.
Obviously, the contents of the doc will range from the lighthearted to the very serious.
Many boy bands of that era were the targets for massive financial exploitation. People who earned tens of millions were left with scraps.
Additionally, some will touch upon heavy subjects — such as sexual misconduct when they were young stars.
Many of today’s music stars have much better situations, in their contracts and finances, than these boy band members did. They carved out part of the industry, and suffered for it, and paved the way for future singers.