Lance Bass Honors Aaron Carter's Memory With Poignant Mental Health IG Post

Lance Bass is continuing to honor the late Aaron Carter's memory on Instagram.

The former N'Sync member and current TikTok sensation have paid tribute to Carter on social media since the 34-year-old's tragic passing on November 5th. Since Carter's untimely death, many details surround the former pop sensation's mental health.

Carter famously struggled with substance abuse and had dealt with its grip until his last days.

An anonymous female had warned police Carter had been struggling with a huffing addiction; the 9-1-1 call made by the unidentified woman three days before Carter had been found unresponsive in his bathtub, revealed he had been inhaling computer duster "all night".

Bass previously discussed Carter's struggles with mental health and addiction in an Instagram post from a month ago and has now paid tribute to his late friend once again.

In the caption of the throwback photo featuring a young Carter on stage with N'Sync circa 2000, Bass pens a candid note wherein he discusses the importance of mental health awareness.

Read on to find out more about Bass' desire to increase the collective conversation around mental health, and how he plans to contribute to increasing awareness!

Bass and a young Carter crossed paths several times during the late Nineties and early aughts; in his Instagram tribute from November 7th, he recalls the first time he had met Carter while on tour.

"When I was around 17, the @nsync guys and I were staying in the same hotel as Aaron in Germany," he began, "He was around 9 years old at the time. I was in my hotel and kept hearing a little kid run up and down the hallways. I opened the door and saw Aaron sprinting around, banging on the guys' hotel doors and pretending to throw up on people. He ran into my room and instantly we were buds..." Bass recalled.

Bass would remain friends with Carter (and with his older Backstreet Boy brother, Nick), throughout the years. As Aaron grew older, Bass described witnessing Carter experience struggles with mental health and addiction.

"As the years went by, I've seen Aaron hit so many highs and lows. Through witnessing Aaron's struggles and having countless conversations with him, I've learned so much about addiction and mental health. It makes me so angry and sad to know that it got the best of him and unfortunately those who enabled him turned a blind eye..." Bass would go on to write.

Bass is not slowing down in his quest to continue discussing mental health on social media.

Just over a month after Carter's passing, Bass candidly discussed the need for mental health-related education, inspired by Carter's legacy.

"Since Aaron has passed, it has become abundantly clear that he had a severe mental illness, insulting in the inner turmoil he dealt with in the darkness coming straight out into the light," Bass writes. "Not only has it hurt the people around him who truly cared about him, it also enabled those who wanted to exploit him, and they did it without any ramifications to use to their advantage..." he continues.

Bass then describes how he plans to contribute to destigmatizing mental health and openly discussing it.

"It is now more crucial than ever for us to educate ourselves on mental health and its effects on the person going through it and the families affected by it," Bass went on to say. "This conversation continues to resurface, and it feels like nothing has been able to be accomplished after years of trying. As a parent, I have been feeling powerless and want to know what I can do to help. What I've realized quickly is that mental health starts at home. More children and families need our support to navigate through these tough challenges. They need resources, and I'm thankful that @onoursleevesofficial exists to raise awareness on these issues and help break the stigma..."

The On Our Sleeves organization aims to provide "free mental health resources for every community" in its efforts to raise awareness for the mental health of children, according to its website.

Carter's surviving sister Angel has recruited Bass to help with the next On Our Sleeves event, and fans can become involved as well!

"I'm grateful that @angelcharissma is including me in this event to help make a change," Bass continues in his post. He then goes on to tell his followers to "join us on January 18th, 2023, to help start the conversation inspired by the life of Aaron with some of our closest friends..."

Former "Even Stevens" star and current mental health advocate, Christy Carlson Romano expressed her support by commenting with heart emojis on Bass' post.