After realizing it wasn’t a dream I broke into tears. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was selfish because I knew I would hear from all those that I had been defending Clay to over the years. Maybe it was because of the dream that many of us collectively have of Clay marrying the perfect girl and having the perfect life. Maybe it was because we feel so much a part of his life and to know that he wasn’t quite honest with us and he had so much of my trust. I don’t know. Then I started to smile.

I have a niece who is gay. She’s my husband’s sister’s only child. I have know since she was two that she was gay and told my husband so. He told me I was crazy, that it was impossible to know that a child that young was gay. As she grew up I never changed my feeling about her, but when pictures of her Sr. Prom came and she had a date, my husband was like,”See, I told you.” She is the same age as my son and they have always been very close. After they graduated from college she and my son were visiting and she told him she had something difficult to tell him. My son was the first person she told. Although I had never told my son my suspicions he was in no way surprised. We just knew.

My niece is one of the happiest people I know. She lives her life like we all do. Works hard, plays hard, is a contributing member of society, pays her taxes, etc., etc. She has also taught me one of the most important lessons I ever needed to be taught. I was raised Southern Baptist and was taught that there were two sins that God would not forgive, suicide and homosexuality. Well I no longer believe either one is an unforgivable sin. I heard a Jewish Rabbi talk of how when a person commits suicide that he believes the person is suffering from something he most likely can’t find a way out of, an illness and that the God he believes in would not punish a sick person. Thank you Rabbi. And my niece taught me that in no way did she choose this life, she was born this way. The God I grew up knowing and loving does not make mistakes and my niece is not a mistake, God made her just the way she is.

God didn’t make a mistake with Clay either. He seems to be one of the finest young men I have ever heard of. I still would want my daughters to marry a man with the same character that he has shown. I hope that he can be as happy as my niece, now that the weight is off of his chest. I will always be a fan and an admirer. So maybe the reason I cried is out of relief that this man that I adore no longer needs to hide.

signed,
not shocked

The problem is that when someone is obviously gay (go ahead if you wish to attack that statement, but we all know what I mean) and doesn’t come out, it implies that there is something wrong with being gay, that it is a source of shame. So to those who are out, that’s a slap in the face.

But people do what they can do when they can do it, and I choose to applaud that accomplishment, however late in the game it comes.

However, I have a big ole problem with the straights who throw around sh!t like “Oh, you want everybody to be gay!” So to all the homophobic Claymates who deny their bigotry as vehemently as they denied Clay’s sexuality: Face up to your prejudices. You weren’t doing him a favor.

He’s a narcissistic freak. I’ve seen some of his weird outbursts. I really don’t think he’ll be a good dad.
That’s my € ,02

Yes, gay people can make excellent parents, but the MOST EXCELLENT parents we can make is when we adopt an unwanted child and raise her or him together in our loving home. When a narcissistic closeted freak decides he wants to splooge out a mini-me into a test tube and THEN (after years of LYING!) come out of the closet, it doesn’t do ANYBODY any good.

He hands ammunition to the angry right, he really DOES deprive a child of a two-parent home, he leaves potentially adoptable children in their current situation, and he’s still a loser and alone.

It’s a sad, pathetic situation, and not one we should celebrate.

He should have come out long ago.

For someone who has seemed to be studiously a-political, his timing here is very telling. I’m actually proud of Clay Aiken. Wow!

Anyway, maybe Ricki Martin is next…or does he want his children to grow up in a less healthy environment than Clay Aiken’s does?

Btw, Mr. Aiken, its okay, we already knew, and we’re proud of you for your courage in ending the denials and lies.

we dont want you

only hot guys with hot faces need come out

But congrats anyway to both of them!

Crazzzzzzzy!!!

Seriously, you guys either sound catty or pompously, know-it-all (that includes Queerty!). Yes, it was most likely he was gay… but only he should choose to come out when ready.

So kudos to Clay. Now, please choose better songs.

I’d like to point out that while there has definitely been years of speculation, Clay actually only denied he was gay once, the denials have all been quotes of that interview, assumptions, and fantasy denials from Claymates.

That is one butt ugly baby. :(

not really.