Label tried to keep band members out of trouble during first tour, Nick Lachey says in Boy Band Confidential
As they embarked on their first tour and their record label tried to limit their potential for legal issues, members of the 1990s US boyband 98 Degrees were equipped with a handbook listing the age at which people across the nation can lawfully consent to sex , the group’s lead singer, Nick Lachey, reveals in a new documentary.
“This is going to sound super shady, but … I remember our first tour, someone at the label gave us a book, and it was the age of consent in every state in the country,” Lachey says in Boy Band Confidential, which is premiering on Monday at 9pm ET on the cable network Investigation Discovery. “And like, we kept that book on the tour bus.”
Lachey’s remarks were contained in a preview of the documentary shared with media outlets including the Guardian. He adds that the age-of-consent manual was meant as a precaution for him and his bandmates while they were on the road surrounded with fans at a time when 98 Degrees’ members were between the ages of 21 and 24.
The age at which a person can legally consent to sex varies by state in the US but typically ranges from 16 to 18. Adults who engage in sexual activity with those below the age of consent can be charged with criminal sexual abuse, though there are states which make exceptions in certain instances involving older minors and young adults whose ages are close to each other.
