Last time we checked in on former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken, we gabbed about his appropriate appointment to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. With the upcoming release of his new album, A Thousand Different Ways, Aiken’s back in the news – if you can call it that.
Starting on his publicity tour – which, may we say, sounds more frightful than a tour of Auschwitz – he pays a visit to People Magazine, speaking out on a variety of topics, including anxiety attacks and paxil. That’s all well and good, but obviously we’re more interested in his lackluster response to those tenacious gay rumors.
When asked by People, he says:
What do you say (to that question)? … It’s like when I was 8. I remember something would get broken in the house, and Mom and Dad would call me in and say, ‘Did you do this?’ Well, it didn’t matter what I said. The only thing they would believe was yes. … People are going to believe what they want.
For all those people who virulently defend Mr. Aiken’s sexuality, please note the skirting around the issue.
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Another notable topic is his dream of being a father. He says:
I want to be a father so badly. I want (kids) one day. Not now. … I would love to adopt. There’s an orphanage not too far from my house, and I’ve been up before with church. I always thought, ‘What happens to those kids who have the potential to go to college but just can’t afford it?’ I’ve been thinking a lot lately about finding a way to pay for one of those kids to go to college.
If he’s worried about money, he could take a page from Lance Bass’ Book.
Related: “Clay Aiken: Mentally Retarded Hero
NYSailorScout
Damn you! Sorry, but the fact that you are gay is not the problem. Many people like Ellen DeGeneres. The fact that you want a private life is not a problem. Nobody knows what Kathy Bates’ sexuality is and nobody cares (of course, Kathy Bates didn’t spend all day and night trumpeting fake romantic passions and daring people to prick her soap bubble of lies.)
The problem is that you are a liar. And THAT is what makes you deeply unappealing, in the end.
nyc324
So, is being open stil no easier post-Bass?
Will it ever be?
kizmet
What fake romantic passions? He’s never had a girlfriend, he’s never romanced a girl in a video, he’s done what he continues to do now, not confirm or deny anything. He’s 27 for god’s sake, how many people here were out to the whole world at 27? Ellen sure as hell wasn’t. Rosie was just saying on The View that she almost got married to a man at 29. Just because we may want him to come out publicly doesn’t mean he has to. He’s never bearded, he’s never said a homophobic word, so why the hell are people so hell bent on outing him as if he’s the devil incarnate? Let him come out in his own time like other people do, it’s his decision to make, not ours.
lorenzo
who cares if he’s gay or not does it really matter? i personally could care less. he was real wrong for taking that picture it is not cute. is it me or does he have really large gums?
Troy
“For all those people who virulently defend Mr. Aiken’s sexuality, please note the skirting around the issue.”
Just note how the unnamed author of this article skirts the fact that Clay has in the past repeatedly denied being gay. How many denials is enough for all of you? But like he says, the author of this article and Clay bashers have not and will never accept what Clay says. Once again Bass is being used as their poster child instead of the tired references to Rock Hudson. Wow, two examples when practically every male singer, dancer, actor, in the past and present has also been accused of being gay at one time or another. Lets talk about the ones who didn’t turn out to be gay either . Astaire, Kelly, Johnson, Sinatra, Usher, Timberlake , Studdard, and most recently Hicks. I am sure students of film, TV and stage can come up with even more names.
JD
You mention that he “skirts around the issue”. But if he said, “No, I am not gay,” would you believe him? I doubt you would. He knows that and knows that you are gonna believe what you want to believe. Sad but true.
Go read what Clay said in Rolling Stone Magazine in 2003. He absolutely denies being gay. Do you believe that? If you do, why not just drop the issue. If you don’t, why should we think you’ll believe him saying, “No, I’m not” now? Its a no win situation for Clay when it comes to the naysayers, no matter what he says or doesn’t say, you’ve already made up your mind. Tsk tsk tsk.
Paul
Nobody has even picked up on the fact that he compares being gay as being something wrong like when something would get broken in the house. If he is gay, he obviously thinks it is wrong or has guilt about it. I am surprised that there is not more uproar in the gay community about it. It is borderline, if not overtly derogatory.
kizmet
Oh for god’s sake, Pauls, that’s not what he’s saying at all, don’t deliberately read more into it than is there. He’s just saying that no matter what answer he gives, it doesn’t matter, because the people asking have already decided what the answer is.
Maybe a more pertinent question would be, when asked by his parents if he broke something, did he? I’m betting the answer was usually yes.
NYSailorScout
I don’t even know who you are, but you go, Paul! :o)
Troy
“Nobody has even picked up on the fact that he compares being gay as being something wrong like when something would get broken in the house.”
No one picked up on that because you totally misunderstood his comment. His point was that he was already being judged guilty of breaking the item regardless of his innocence or not. You going tell me that no one here has ever been falsely accused of something or took the fall at home for a sibling ?! Deny that and I will call you all a liar.
Kelly
Gee, the gay community is so respectful of Clay.
Except not.
No wonder he won’t come out, he’s probably disgusted by you all, and I don’t blame him.
He has supported gay causes in the past, but no one ever mentions that. Why? He has never spoken out publicly against gays, and he has tons of gay friends.
He’s a man with no supportive community except his crazy Claymates, and that’s sad. Shame on you.
Mary
You know what? Clay can sing! Boy can he sing. Now you may be a good accountant, or a CEO of a major corporation and I ask you, are you gay? Is it important? Quite frankly, I don’t discuss my sexual orientation with people and I think more people should talk less about their or anyone else’s sexual orientation. As Clay said, it is nobody”s business. If you are gay and want to come out, come out. If Clay is gay and doesn’t want to come out, he doesn’t have to. If Clay is heterosexual you won’t believe it anyway. You so much want him to be gay. Give the guy a break. You people are a littel creepy to me.
NYSailorScout
We wouldn’t believe that he is heterosexual because we know for a FACT (John Paulus) that it is otherwise. I believe in reality. Sorry, I won’t play into anybody’s fantasy. This is Clay’s fault, and nobody here is persecuting him.
Had he just SHUT THE HELL UP with all of those lies about his personal life, none of this would have happened. HE made his personal life front-page, talking about Jesus and women and marriage. Read any of his myriad of interviews. Be honest or keep your own counsel. The broadcast of lies is just too much. We deal with that enough through the Bush administration.
John
YA’ know, why aren’t you Clay bashers crawlin’ all over all the other sissies in hiding in the intertainment industry? The fact of the matter is who the hell cares if Clay is gay or straight or whatever? How many of you are standing on the bridge yelling “I”M GAY; I”M QUEER; I”M A FAG”? Jesus, let it go !!!
kizmet
What the hell is your problem NYSailorScout? What lies about his private life? He’s never had a girlfriend, he’s never bearded, he’s NEVER said he was straight. He believes in God. So do lots of gay men and women. He wants to be a role model. Good for him. I hope one day he feels comfortable enough with himself to come out and be a role model for gay kids everywhere, they sure as hell aren’t getting a good one from people like you.
I think Clay is a beautiful, talented, gay man, and I wish more people could just accept him for what he is.
Davey
You can tell the agenda of this blog is to ridicule Clay. Just look at the picture they always use. Assholes! He is so right. It’s time to just say Fuck You to them all, and he did. Go Clay!
dc
Do any of you haters know Clay personally? Not likely so you don’t know jack about him. Stop thinking that you know it all and drop it. He is a person like you and I, just let the man be. Find something else to occupy your miserable life. BETTER YET…….GET A LIFE!!
Hephaestion
I don’t understand why Queerty doesn’t like Clay Aiken,
Obviously he is under contract to remain closeted. He has (I think) rather cleverly let people know he is gay without breaking his contract and losing his career, and I congratulate him on that.
Clay Aiken is not the one who is to blame. The blame should go to homophobic record producers who LOVE to sell CD’s full of anti-gay and anti-female lyrics, but who refuse to sell anything by a gay artist whose coming out might kill sales.
Chris
Wow – the Claymates are as bad as Scientologists. How do you think they divide up the work among the group to troll the boards that mention Clay and leave the propaganda?
Seriously, you guys are funny. I love reading all the rabid Clay supporters. Very entertaining. “We love Clay. Clay is good. Clay is our friend. Bow to the Clay”.
joe
Well, Kathy Bates has been married, so I’d assume her sexuality isn’t what you’re apparently alluding too…or, at the least, she’s bisexual. I’ve never thought Kathy Bates was gay…am I way out of the loop here?
NYSailorScout
No, you’re right, Joe. I assume that Kathy Bates is straight. My point is that her sexuality is NEVER an issue and never really comes up, one way or the other.
Cathy
Well one thing is blatently obvious from reading this article and some of the comments. There are many haters out there with an agenda. None of you know Clay Aiken at all or this discussion would not happening. I hope some of you had the good sense to watch Clay all week on various talk shows and entertainment shows. You just might have actually learned something about him….like who he is.
To all the gay men and women out there that are “out”. Good for you! I am sure you “came out” on your own and would not have appreciated being pushed into it. Leave the guy alone.
Not only can he sing amazingly, he is an Ambassador for UNICEF, he has been appointed to a committee for the President (as you know from your last trashy article), he penned a book that was on the #2 NYT best seller list, he had 3 CD’s that made the top 5 on the billboard charts in the first week, the first one went triple platinum, he is co-founder of the buble/aiken foundation which works towards inclusion for underprivilaged children, he is a certified teacher for children with disabilities…….not to mention a man with a wonderful heart and soul.
Who the **** cares what he does in the bedroom. He answered the question three years ago and did not skirt the issue now, he just took a stand that he will NOT answer it again. NUFF SAID
Cathy