In news that is prolly surprising only to his most loyal Claymate fans, Clay Aiken has decided to come out of the closet and admit his homosexuality on the cover of the new issue of People magazine. Under the headline, Yes, I’m Gay (which is the same headline that Ellen DeGeneres and Lance Bass used when they came out of the closet on the cover of People), Clay also gives the world the first really good look of his newborn son Parker Foster Aiken who was born via surrogate mother (best friend and producer Jaymes Foster) on 08.08.08. Here is Clay and Parker‘s new People magazine cover:
People magazine has yet to update its own site with this breaking news but the Huffington Post is all over it:
People hits newsstands on New York and LA on Wednesday, and there new cover is a doozy. American Idol alum Clay Aiken and newborn son Parker pose for their first photos AND Aiken officially comes out. Parker Foster Aiken was born on August 8 in North Carolina to Aiken’s good friend Jaymes Foster, 50. The pair met when Aiken was a contestant on American Idol. He was in “Spamalot” on Broadway earlier this year and is returning now. Aiken has long remained silent about his sexuality. While he has legions of female fans called Claymates, but has also been referred to for years as Gayken by Kathy Griffin and has been allegedly solicited gay sex online.
Even tho I am not a Clay Aiken fan (in the least, I don’t like an thing that he does actually) I must commend him for taking this step into brave new territory for him and his family. This People magazine cover quotes him as saying “I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things” and I have to admit that he gets major props from me for coming to that conclusion. Parker can only benefit from his father’s honesty … I wish them well on their life’s journey together. So … thoughts?
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You know how unsurprised I was? I read the People Magazine cover and didn’t even register the big “Yes, I’m Gay!” quote until I looked at the headline of the article and then re-read the mag cover looking for the admission of Gay! Hello! Is ANYBODY suprised? I’m glad he FINALLY admits it. Yay for him! And isn’t his son the cutest? :)
I wonder if Clay’s mother raised him to lie? I respect the fact that he finally admitted what everyone already knew, but to do it on the pages of People somehow doesn’t strike me as anything but opportunistic.
i can’t believe it was huffpost that first alerted you to this story. Do you regularly read the site? I first got into it by hearing Arianna Huffington on kcrw’s left, right, and center. I’m glad that all of today’s interests are amassed and backed by a wonderfully accented woman.
The coming out process is difficult and involves alot of uncomfortable moments (believe me) … I can’t imagine what it must be like to go through that in the public eye (especially when people in your own community insult you and make jokes). I would imagine Clay has felt very isolated. I hope he can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy life more openly now.
It’s great for him that he’s out and has a new baby and all… but why is it that some ‘celebs’ wait until their 15 minutes is up to come out? It just seems like such a publicity stunt, and coming out shouldn’t be such a big, magazine cover inducing ordeal.
TR Knight, Ellen, Neil Patrick Harris: these are the people we should really be applauding and recognizing courage in. They came out at the peak of their success. It didn’t hurt or help them (career-wise), but their honesty made them seem more human.
When people like Clay Aiken make a big deal over coming out when their spotlight has faded… it just comes off as a little bit desperate and kinda sad.
Being gay is great, being open about it is wonderful. Using it as a way to garner attention from the public? That’s just disappointing. Especially when he had so much opportunity to come out and make it a non-issue. In 2008 coming out and expecting some sort of big reaction or fanfare just seems sort of regressive. Haven’t we moved beyond that?
yeah i totally agree zachery, clay’s 15 mins are up a long time ago, and now looking to be talked about so now he feels its time to put that out there in a magazine. dollar signs i see in Clays eyes
Good for him! I admire him for all the great work that he does. And I have a huge amount of respect for him. I saw him perform a few years ago and I was very impressed! GO CLAY!
Mixed feelings: It seems like some of these stars only come out when they have nothing to lose professionall — think Lance Bass, Clay Aiken, Ellen DeGeneres. Coming out only helped their careers, if anything (though it’s too soon to say for Clay. But while he’s got a nice market in holiday songs and things like that, his career could only to stand to benefit from this.
On the other hand, total props to him. In spite of everything, it always takes courage to come out, and I’m sure being famous and in the public eye, you bear a certain burden of representation that might prevent you from coming out. (Aside from the financial incentive to stay closeted.) So, good for Clay, good for raising his kid with honesty, and now let’s see who the next person to come out is! I’m looking forward to someone REALLY FAMOUS coming out, someone who has a lot to lose, and thereby displays even more courage. On another note, it’d be great if the mainstream media covered trans folks better.
who really cares about this guy any more??? booooring, and duh, no brainer…
Why do people who are gay have to announce it like we all deserve to know? You don’t see Brad Pitt saying YES I’M STRAIGHT…why should homosexual people have to ‘come out’ and tell the world their private life, as if we deserve to know? We don’t. It’s their life…who cares if you’re straight or gay or bi or nothing in between.
eh, well — better late than never but did Clay Aiken actually think he needed to announce what the world already knew?
http://lifeisacookie.wordpress.....magazines/
They look adorable, congrats to him! Clay has a very respectful stance on other’s personal lives, so I hope the public extends him, and his family, the same courtesy.
I think he has to come out now that his kid is calling him “mommy”
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why is he wearing those Sarah Palin glasses?
Forget Clay coming out, the mother of that baby is 50????? That is shockingly selfish. Someone else already pointed this out but I just have to reiterate it. At least Clay is younger and will hopefully be there for Parker when he grows up. Seriously, though. If you’re 50 and suddenly have maternal urges, get a dog. Don’t have a baby!
Good lord Vaquera, you think that this woman is going to die of natural causes in the next five years or something? She’s FIFTY, not a hundred and four. Even if she dies at the relatively young age of seventy, she still gets to see him grow up, graduate high school, all of his firsts…
And if she gets to the average lifespan in the US, which is around 80, she’d probably get to see him graduate university, get a job, maybe start a family. If she lives past that, then she’ll probably get to see all the big stuff. Fifty is kind of young now.
Jerika, seventy isn’t “relatively young.” It’s… the life expectancy. And it sucks to think that kid’s mom will never meet his kids, or perhaps never see him graduate college.
Rose, etc., the reason celebs don’t have to say “YES I’M STRAIGHT” is simple math. Allegedly, 10% of the population identifies as gay. Therefore, the vast majority doesn’t, so it’s logically sound to assume someone is straight until they say otherwise. Very, very basic statistics – not really something to bitch about.
what’s up with the SUPER SHORT post today????
http://pinkisthenewblog.com/ho.....ik-island/