AMERICAN IDLE

Clay Aiken: I’m The “Universal Punchline For Everything Gay”

clay aiken technicolor dreamcoat

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.

“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.

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