Bass reveals he’s gay

New York – Lance Bass, a band member of ‘N Sync, says he’s gay and in a “very stable” relationship with a reality show star.

Bass, who formed ‘N Sync with Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick, tells People magazine on its Web site that he didn’t earlier disclose his sexuality because he didn’t want to affect the group’s popularity.

“I knew that I was in this popular band and I had four other guys’ careers in my hand, and I knew that if I ever acted on it or even said (that I was gay), it would overpower everything,” he tells People.

‘N Sync is known for a string of hits including “Bye Bye Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.” The band went on hiatus in 2002. Bass has also made headlines for undertaking astronaut training and failing to raise money for a trip into space.

The singer says he’s in a “very stable” relationship with 32-year-old actor Reichen Lehmkuhl, winner of season four of CBS’ “Amazing Race.”

As for why he’s talking about this now, Bass says, “The main reason I wanted to speak my mind was that (the rumors) really were starting to affect my daily life. Now it feels like it’s on my terms.”

Stones tour returns to U.S.

New York – The Rolling Stones will return to the U.S. and Canada this fall as part of their ongoing “A Bigger Bang” tour.

The Stones, now packing venues in Europe, will open the tour Sept. 20 in Boston’s Gillette Stadium. Other stops include Chicago, Seattle, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Vancouver, British Columbia, with the final stop in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium on Nov. 18.

The Stones kicked off “A Bigger Bang” last August at Boston’s Fenway Park.

They were forced to postpone the start of the European leg of the tour, which ends Sept. 3 in Denmark, after Keith Richards suffered a head injury in a fall from a tree while vacationing in Fiji in April.

The 62-year-old guitarist said he’s feeling great and can’t wait to play “more gigs in America and Canada.”

“I thought we left too soon you know, so that’s the reason we’re coming back,” Richards said.

Tickets go on sale Monday.

‘View’ coming into focus

New York – Jessica Simpson will be a guest on “The View” when Rosie O’Donnell debuts as a co-host in September.

The ABC chatfest has booked Simpson for the Sept. 5 show, spokesman Karl Nilsson confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

O’Donnell, who was host of “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” from 1996 to 2002, is replacing Meredith Vieira, who will become Matt Lauer’s new co-host on NBC’s “Today Show” in the fall.

“A Public Affair,” Simpson’s new album, is slated for release Aug. 29. The 26-year-old singer-actress stars in the comedy film “Employee of the Month,” which opens Sept. 15.

After O’Donnell makes her bow, “The View” plans to try out replacements for Star Jones Reynolds, whose contract wasn’t renewed. Reynolds left last month after surprising ABC and co-host Barbara Walters by announcing she would not return in the fall.

‘Dilbert’ creator gets hitched

San Francisco – Scott Adams called his weekend wedding aboard a yacht in the San Francisco Bay “tremendous,” but said he doesn’t expect to win a dance competition anytime soon.

Adams, 49, creator of the Dilbert comic strip, and Shelly Miles, 37, were married Saturday evening on the Commodore Galaxy yacht by the ship’s captain. About 150 guests attended.

It’s the first marriage for Adams and the second for Miles. They met at his health club four years ago.

Miles has two children, a 6-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter, and both participated in the ceremony, Adams said.

The couple also took dance lessons in the months leading up to the wedding, Adams said. He chronicled his anxiety on his Web journal.

“This wedding has taken more planning than the invasion of Iraq. And yet there is still one guaranteed failure built into the plan: the first dance,” he wrote in an entry dated Saturday.

The first song was Keith Urban’s “You’re the Only One,” and it was “not as embarrassing as I thought it would be,” he said Tuesday. “We had actual moves.”

On Friday, the couple, Miles’ children and both sets of parents will head to the western Caribbean for a Disney cruise honeymoon, Adams said.

There will be no vacation for Dilbert, though. Adams said he has a week’s worth of comic strips ready.