Clay Aiken’s been the butt of many a gay joke ever since he brought up Ruben Studdard’s rear on American Idol 300 years ago, and that’s okay with the former North Carolina Democratic House candidate.
Noting his frequent references on Family Guy and in good friend Kathy Griffin‘s standup, Aiken told Huff Po Live that “somehow” he’s become “the universal punchline for everything gay.”
Well, here’s Kathy to remind us all how this “somehow” happened:
Though laughing all the way to the bank, the 36-year-old worries that the gay jokes at his expense send the wrong message to LGBT youth.
How about we take this to the next level?
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“It doesn’t hurt me, it’s not me that is affected by it,” Aiken said. “I don’t worry about the person who just got picked on, I worry about kids who are being told on one hand that ‘It Gets Better.’ And on the other hand, they’re saying, ‘Wait, when you come out you get made fun of for being gay.’ What does that make that 15-year-old in Indiana feel like?”
Aiken’s four-part documentary series, The Runner-Up — chronicling his failed congressional bid — airs on The Esquire Network.
Maar Anzualda
He wishes
NomNomNom
He’s right about that and Queerty is guilty of it. Just look at how disrespectful you’ve always been toward him.
Xzamilio
Damn… reading this article was like being on the beaches of the Virgin Islands under an umbrella with a margarita: Salt and Shade all around!!
But really, though, Clay… you’re kinda in your own feelings because I gotta say, I don’t know too many kids that were looking at your life like “He’s being made fun of”… overestimating your importance a bit there, buddy.
But this article.. the SHADE of it all!!!
polarisfashion
Wow he raises a very good point. When I was growing up, just being called gay was taken as an insult. Fag is no better. I know many gay jokes and while they might be funny amongst ourselves that are out, I remember how they felt when I was still closeted and questioning. Maybe it’s time to put the same taboo we have for racial jokes as we have for gay jokes. Yes I made a joke on another article on here but it wasn’t a derogatory gay joke. I’m all for jokes directed at bigots and haters, I have no problem shaming them.
AJAnders
Good Lord, where is that picture of Clay from?
NomNomNom
The picture is the poster for when he was Joseph in “Joseph And The Technicolor Dream Coat”.
NomNomNom
@Xzamilio: He doesn’t care if he’s being made fun of. He cares that kids will see it and identify with it.
Xzamilio
@NomNomNom: No, he doesn’t. It’s that same tired ass argument of “For the children” that many a dishonest person lays out when THEY are the ones who have a hangup. If he cared about LGBT kids, he would have been open and honest about his sexual orientation at the peak of his success, not on the downswing when no one cared about him anymore. All it does is demonstrate that you DO have to wait until the spotlight is off of you. Ricky Martin did the same thing…
Please… he cares.
Bob LaBlah
Do any pictures of him exist where he looks like a male?
NomNomNom
@Xzamilio: You have some issues. Get help.
NomNomNom
@Bob LaBlah: The better question is “Will Queerty ever post pictures that aren’t an effort to mock him”?
Charlie in Charge
If the joke is that he did something absurd that made news, or his kid looks funny, or about his American Idol image, hey fair game. If the joke is that he’s effeminate and has typically gay mannerisms – isn’t that the sort of thing we get pissed off about when it shows up in a movie like I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry?
Roland Hamburger
I thought it was Richard Simmons still
Giancarlo85
@Xzamilio: You couldn’t be anymore wrong at least about Ricky Martin. Ricky Martin would have destroyed his career if he came out at his peak. I don’t know much about Aiken to be honest. But Ricky Martin was at his peak in the 1990s. Though I must add he has had success with more recent albums. Ricky Martin was hugely popular during a time when gay people were viewed highly unfavorably in public opinion data (especially among Latinos).
I mean even Ellen had a very bad time when she first came out.
NomNomNom
@Giancarlo85: Same with Clay. The climate was much more intolerant 12 years ago. Nobody seems to get that. He came out 8 years ago for chrissakes. Get over it.
Low Country Boy
Yes, 12-years-ago, there were no openly gay people on the planet. He really needs to get over himself.
Xzamilio
@NomNomNom: No, you don’t have a retort. Get one.
Xzamilio
@Giancarlo85: Look here, bruh… don’t sit there and tell me how wrong I am when you don’t even know anything about Clay Aiken… Ricky Martin was a one-liner that was bringing up closeted entertainers who came out when the hype died down, but Clay was the main point… talking about “the children.”. I was growing up during his era and his sexuality may have been speculated but it was barely a focal point during his heyday.
Xzamilio
And — I’m not commenting on this anymore — he is being dishonest as hell, because he says this:
“It doesn’t hurt me, it’s not me that is affected by it,” Aiken said. “I don’t worry about the person who just got picked on, I worry about kids who are being told on one hand that ‘It Gets Better.’ And on the other hand, they’re saying, ‘Wait, when you come out you get made fun of for being gay.’ What does that make that 15-year-old in Indiana feel like?”
That has NOTHING to do with him because the most jokes about him — including the Kathy Griffin ones — were made BEFORE he came out. He’s trying to draw a parallel from his own experiences, and there is no parallel. He got a tremendous amount of support when he came out and I think most of the jokes were in part because he was in a glass closet with no door… everyone knew it, but I can understand that need to hold on to that denial.
calabrazy55
Who the hell is he? Sounds to me like he thinks he is the king of the gays. Get over yourself dude
1EqualityUSA
eh. He’s harmless.
Ron King
Not that memorable..
Charles Sherwood Morrill
I wish he would make up his mind
Patrick Cremeans
Who?
Jerry Roland
You wish
Cam
When Aiken made disparaging remarks about the gay community while trying to court conservative voters he kind of lost the right to claim he was doing anything for gay kids.
Giancarlo85
@Xzamilio: You are full of it! I never said anything about Clay Aiken. And I know full well about Ricky Martin. You don’t even have the slightest clue about him. Keep on spouting off platitudes.
1EqualityUSA
“When Aiken made disparaging remarks about the gay community while trying to court conservative voters he kind of lost the right to claim he was doing anything for gay kids.”
(Dropkick.)
A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than the other (depending on which way he or she twists) and the wrestler falls back to the mat on his or her side, or front.[1] This is commonly employed by light and nimble wrestlers who can take advantage of their agility, and is often executed on a charging opponent, or while charging at an opponent.
The most basic form of a dropkick, but potentially the hardest to pull off, is a standing dropkick where the wrestler catches a standing or running opponent with a standard dropkick from a standing position. In order to be pulled off effectively, it requires great leg strength in order to gain elevation.
The dropkick was invented by wrestler Abe Coleman, known as “Hebrew Hercules” and “Jewish Tarzan”. He claimed the move was inspired by kangaroos he saw on a tour of Australia in 1930.[2]
Leon Wilborn
No, you’re the answer to all things irrelevant…
NomNomNom
@Cam: “When Aiken made disparaging remarks about the gay community while trying to court conservative voters he kind of lost the right to claim he was doing anything for gay kids.”
That’s a bald face flat out lie. He has never made a disparaging remark about the community. Not ever. You have always said horrible things about Clay. Are you a Lambert fan? They are so jealous of Clay.
Cam
@NomNomNom: said….
“@Cam: “When Aiken made disparaging remarks about the gay community while trying to court conservative voters he kind of lost the right to claim he was doing anything for gay kids.”
That’s a bald face flat out lie. He has never made a disparaging remark about the community. Not ever. You have always said horrible things about Clay. Are you a Lambert fan? They are so jealous of Clay.
__________________________________________
And here ladies and gentlemen we have a prime example of a species that nowadays is more rare than in the recent past. The hysterical Clay Aiken fan.
Notice how no comment can be made about the object of their obsession without an immediate attack, and of course the assumption that you are “One of those Lambert Fans” Previously one would be accused of being a Kelly Clarkson or a Ruben Studdard Fan).
Aiken stated while running for Congress, when asked about gay marriage….
“”It’s not why I’m in this race,” Aiken, 35, noted. “It’s not an issue that’s really on the radar for most people in the second district of North Carolina. It’s not something that effects people’s daily lives.””
So no, he didn’t call people homos, but he was very clear, but he certainly couldn’t wait to run away from gay issues during his campaign. And how’d that work out for him? If he hadn’t been saying crap like that I would have sent him money just to see an openly gay man win in North Carolina. But when he started doing the “I”m not THAT gay dance” I figured no way.
And of course, he also had some words for celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence when her phone was hacked and private pictures were stolen and leaked.
He said ““Anybody who takes inappropriate pictures of themselves deserves exactly what they get,”
NomNomNom
He correctly said that NC 2nd district is a very republican district and even the Democrats are conservative. What good could he do for his district by pissing off and turning away potential voters while shoving gay activism down their throats? There’s pretty much no audience for gay issues in that district so he’s right, its not why he ran for office.
I think you would rather have him get hysterically self righteous about gay issues and lose the race. You’re a moron who can’t see the big picture.
Cam
@NomNomNom: said… “I think you would rather have him get hysterically self righteous about gay issues and lose the race. You’re a moron who can’t see the big picture.”
______________________________
And remind me, how well did what he did work out for him? He ran away from us and he lost.
I also loved the bit of homophobia you expressed there. ANY mention of gay rights is apparently just LGBT’s being “Hysterically self righteous”.
Lastly, calling me a Moron, while you’re defending his losing strategy? I see you Aiken fans haven’t changed.
NomNomNom
It worked out a lot better than shoving gay marriage at them would have LOL.
tricky ricky
I take it he’s some kind if singer? American Idol has been on since the beginning of time and yet I have heard only 3 people who have been on it sing. Jennifer Hudson, Adam Lambert, and the guy who was in Rock of Ages on Broadway. I also have never heard a Taylor Swift song and couldn’t pick Bradley Cooper out of a police lineup unless he was dressed as rocket raccoon. and I plan on keeping it that way.
Cam
@NomNomNom: said… “It worked out a lot better than shoving gay marriage at them would have LOL.”
_____________________
He lost. You sound like HRC did, when they said a few years ago not to push for DADT repeal or marriage because it would upset people and we shouldn’t get mad at Democrats that voted against us because gay issues turned off voters.
They were completely wrong, and Aiken just lost pursuing the same strategy. So keep typing your little “LOL’s” and calling people morons, but when you keep screaming about his brilliant election strategy when he lost you just sound and look foolish.
NomNomNom
Serious question. Would you rather have an elected member of Congress advocating and voting in your favor or a gay man with an agenda who loses the election by a landslide because he doesn’t care if he gets elected, or affecting change, he just wants the rabids to not attack him.
1EqualityUSA
NomNomNom, This is not the time for us to be silent. The more the country sees that we are like everyone else, nurses, firefighters, medics, doctors, gardeners, UPS delivery staff, construction workers, musicians, reporters, politicians, police, forestry, sport figures, veterinarians, soldiers, dry cleaners, doughnut shops, Peet’s, and every facet of life in between. We need to speak up for ourselves and dispel some of the slant others are putting on us. We are equal.
Cam
@NomNomNom: said…
“Serious question. Would you rather have an elected member of Congress advocating and voting in your favor or a gay man with an agenda who loses the election by a landslide because he doesn’t care if he gets elected, or affecting change, he just wants the rabids to not attack him.”
_________________________________
He DID lose by a landslide. He lost by nearly 20 points. You keep claiming he had a good strategy, his strategy was apparently to run away from who he was, and it failed in a big big big way.
You remind me of those Clay Aiken fans that would freak out and attack anybody who DARED suggest that Aiken might be gay, you all refused to see reality then, just like you seem determined not to see it now.
NomNomNom
He lost by exactly the ratio of Republicans to Democrats in that highly gerrymandered district. In other words he won ALL of the Democrats available.
You keep saying he “ran away” from who he is. THIS IS who he is. Who are you to define him?
You are exactly the same hateful fan of another idol who is tragically uninformed and ridiculously short sighted. You’ve at least been consistent over the years.
NomNomNom
@1EqualityUSA: Which is exactly why we should help him get elected instead of attacking him BEFORE he has the platform to drive change. CAM is a moron. He wants rabid activism that will guarantee that he can’t get enough votes.
1EqualityUSA
NomNomNom, Stand up, dust yourself off, and be authentic. Eventually, people will trust that you are true blue, and not some empath.
Cam
@NomNomNom:
It’s fun watching the hysteria of the Aiken fans. Hey, remember when you all used to accuse anybody who disagreed with you of being an “Adam Labert fan” or called them a “moron”?
Oh wait, you’re still doing that aren’t you.
NomNomNom
You’re still a moron. Shrug.
1EqualityUSA
NomNomNom, the way you shrug is so gay.
Cam
@1EqualityUSA:
NO! Don’t tell them they are gay! Because then they will run from that, and try to be a “Good Gay”, you know, so they can only lose by 20 points. 😉
1EqualityUSA
Courage, it’s a turn on.
ParisHiltonsBadEye
You just had to pick the most FLAMBOYANT picture of him! What is he wearing, a Mexican throw rug?
And no, it doesn’t get better. It progressively gets worse. A lot worse. That’s why there are so many cyber-bullying suicides. People should just treat each other nicely.
Cam
So you say people should treat each other nicely, then comment on how flamboyant his picture is.
Hypocrite?