None of the Backstreet Boys have publicly come out as gay; all five members have consistently referred to themselves as straight in interviews, while emphasizing their strong LGBTQ+ fanbase and support for LGBTQ+ rights.

Public information

  • A.J. McLean has directly addressed the idea that “there has to be one gay guy in every boy band” and explicitly said that is not true of the Backstreet Boys, describing himself instead—jokingly—as a “fag hag” because of his many queer friends and fans.
  • Interviews highlighting their use of same‑sex couples in music videos and their long‑standing engagement with LGBTQ+ audiences frame the group as allies rather than positioning any member as openly gay.

Why there’s no clear answer

  • Sexual orientation is personal, and unless an artist chooses to come out publicly, it is not possible to state their orientation as fact.
  • Speculating about someone’s sexuality without their confirmation can be invasive and misleading, especially when existing interviews already clarify how they self‑identify.

The “which Backstreet Boy is gay” meme

  • The phrase “which Backstreet Boy is gay” is widely known from a late‑1990s/early‑2000s parody bit and radio skit, which played on stereotypes about boy bands rather than any confirmed information about the members’ real lives.
  • Online discussions often revisit this as a joke or nostalgia topic, but they do not provide credible evidence that any member has come out as gay; they mostly reference the parody song or general boy‑band gossip.

Bottom line: As of the latest publicly available information, no Backstreet Boy has come out as gay, and the idea that one of them is gay remains a mix of parody, fan speculation, and old pop‑culture jokes rather than confirmed fact.