As we mentioned yesterday, former stripper David Hernandez will remain on American Idol. Now, producer Ken Warwick has verbally coming to the singer's aid: We've had strippers on the show before. We're never judgmental about people who do things like that. If it were some sort of heavy porn, then maybe we'd have to take action. But certainly not on this." [POQ]

Daniel Hernandez and his stripper past cement this season of American Idol as the gayest singing competition in history. That doesn't count for much, of course, because the competition has only been around for six years. Regardless, the remaining men are uber-homo, but just how homo remains a mystery - until now!

The crazy kids over at 23/6 put together a clever Ryan Seacrest gay-o-meter, which we've included after the jump. Their blip on Jason Castro is too funny to bury down there, though (see above).

Also, some of you may be happy to hear that Hernandez will remain on the show. Group hug!

CONTINUED »

The Associated Press delves a little deeper in American Idol contestant Daniel David Hernandez's gay stripper past. Is the news agency trying to subtly sway public opinion? [POQ]

What a let down! We saw the National Ledger headline, "Ramiele Malubay Racy Photos: Breasts Groped by Lesbian Pals, American Idol Scandal?" and immediately envisioned some sort of sapphic orgy of tit love. That's obviously not the case, unfortunately…

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The gay past has become a reality show rite of passage!

Some say that American Idol contestant David Hernandez shook his ding-a-ling for the gents:

A fabulous rumor has just surfaced that David Hernandez was a stripper in Phoenix before his time on American Idol this season. After rumors were posted around the internet that David has a steady boyfriend of 2-3 years and that he stripped at Dick’s Cabaret, pictures surfaced of David working at Burn, a gay nightclub that just recently closed in Phoenix.

C'mon! Don't act shocked that an Idol contestant made dough shaking his dick. Isn't being gay a prerequisite for this show?

"Silence = Death". That simple phrase became - and remains - an anthem for AIDS activists. And it wouldn't exist without Avram Finkelstein.

Raised by appropriately Marxist parents here in New York, the natural born activist became involved in the AIDS movement after his boyfriend died of the then-new disease. Mourning the loss of friends and family, Finkelstein and his five friends organized a casual group that would later become Gran Fury, a creative collective responsible for much of ACT-UP's visual campaigns.

Old Belonsky spoke with Finkelstein recently and got an earful on how the public space has evolved, the role of gender in the presidential campaigns and whether a thirteen-year old American Idol fan can be called an "activist". The answer's "yes".

CONTINUED »

We already asked you to vote which of the Top 12 guys on American Idol might sway gay, but we noticed something else about this group: A whole slew of them have names that sound like Falcoln Studios handed to 'em.

Colton Berry? Garrett Haley? Jason Castro?

You tell us: Which among this dozen has the most porn star-esque name?

On Tuesday night the Top 12 guys on American Idol took the stage in a two-hour episode, which means we were glued to our TiVo for about 35 minutes. The question on our mind? Not who would make it to the final two, but:

Which of these fellas plays for our team?

Here's their introduction from Seacrest. Now, your guesses.

It's a multiple choice poll – 'cause you know there's more than one homo in the line up – so choose all who you think swing the gay way. (Sorry, no obvious Sanjaya vote this year.)

And not to sway your vote, but is it just us, or does Danny Noriega remind you of a certain YouTube personality?

(Are we totally gross for running this poll? Perhaps. We're sure you'll let us know in the comments.)

After the jump, some performances from a "select" few.

CONTINUED »

Leo Marlowe is our new hero.

Singer and Spamalot "actor" Clay Aiken headlines earlier this week for his unbelievably catty Newsweek interview. Now Aiken has made more awkward moments with Time Out NY:

What do you make of people nagging you about the “gay” thing?
I think the majority of the American public cares less about it than reporters like you do.

Has anyone ever confronted you about it in public?
I can’t come up with any specific incidents. But I’ve been called everything in the book at some point or another—gay, ugly, nerdy, fat.

Oh, Clay! You're not fat.

We can't say whether Aiken's a fag, but we have our suspicions. Consider his response to whether he coined "Claymates": "I didn’t really like it at first. I was like, Oh my God, how tacky! But now I think, If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. We’ve fully embraced it."

Exactly.

Sorry to break your hearts, boys, but American Idol's Simon Cowell again shot down rumors that he shoots it for men. He does, however, blame his mother for his fey ways. From Daily Mail's Pulitzer-worthy pages:

…We finally build up to the gay question. He sees it coming five miles off, and to his credit, laughs about being regarded as effeminate.

"It's probably my mother's influence," he laughs. (She is a former dancer, and he does tend to glide around the room, although you could just put that down to expensive shoes). But no, he says he is not gay.

"If I was, why hide it? It's not as if the music business would be an odd place for a gay man to work. And anyway, if I was trying to hide the fact that I was gay, I would be off playing rugby every Saturday, wouldn't I?"

That's what we did when were in the closet - well, not rugby. American football. All that wrestling around with men really helped us quench those desires. Then, after we came out, we stopped playing rugby, because, as proud gay men, we refuse to fuss our manicure.

Clay Aiken continues to avoid discussing his cock sucking ways. John Paulus, the man who claims to have bedded the American Idol reject, says otherwise. He wrote an email to the Miami Herald which reads:

It's unfortunate that in their desperation, Clay Aiken fans would take a sarcastic retort that I made in response to their ludicrous assertion and construe it as a statement of fact. Again, there was never a legitimate recant made by me nor will there be. I stand by the story as reported by the National Enquirer and as told by me on the Howard Stern Show.
…
In interviews back in September 2006 with Diane Sawyer, and Larry King, when questioned whether or not he was gay, Clay Aiken declined an opportunity to provide a direct yes or no answer. In an interview given to People Magazine in the Fall of 2006 he was once again asked the question and again he chose to equivocate and not give a definitive yes or no reply.

His current refusal and equivocation to the question provide credibility to my assertions. Those using his 2003 Rolling Stones interview as evidence of his heterosexuality do so in desperation.

Cue angry Aiken fans…

There are just too many possible answers for this blind item! There are, after all, so many potentially gay American Idol stars: "Which teenage "American Idol" reject is already cropping up on the L.A. gay bar scene?"

Obviously it's not Sanjaya - he already made clear he's no queer. Blake Lewis also claims to be 100% lady-loving. In fact, he's voracious about it: "I'm definitely not gay. No. I'm straight. I'll scream it out loud."

Ah, that really brings us back…

Clay Aiken may deny his homosexuality, but there's no denying what's happening between these lines:

Clay Aiken and a bevy of male chorus dancers partied into the wee hours at Cain nightclub over the weekend.

The group was celebrating the forthcoming Off-Broadway show, "Idol: The Musical" which is all about Clay and his "Claymates," the fans who love him. The guaranteed-to-be-a-classic show begins previews July 5.

Spies say the group ordered multiple bottles of Snow Queen vodka and poured into cabs together after a long night.

Snow Queen vodka, huh? Guess they were out of semen sangria.