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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Mrs. and Mrs. DeGeneres-de Rossi are featured on the cover and in the pages of this week’s issue of People magazine. As y’all should know by now, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi were wed this past Saturday afternoon and enjoyed a festive celebration of their nuptials at their Beverly Hills, CA home … this week, People magazine will be publishing the brides’ wedding album:

It was an evening of love, laughter, and a few tears for Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, who exchanged personal wedding vows in front of their closest family and friends on Saturday at their home in L.A. In an exclusive interview and photos, DeGeneres, 50, and de Rossi, 35, share the most romantic moments of the night with PEOPLE. “What can I say? I’m the luckiest girl in the world,” says DeGeneres. “She’s officially off the market. No one else gets her. And now she’ll cook and clean for me.” Amid candles and flowers by Mark’s Garden, both brides, wearing designs by Zac Posen, sat on floor pillows along with author Wayne Dyer, who officiated the ceremony. After exchanging Neil Lane rings, the couple and their guests sat down for an all-vegan menu prepared by their personal chef David Silberkleit while Sweet Lady Jane created a vegan red velvet cake for the celebration. “The love we felt from the people surrounding us, and the love we have for each other, made this the most beautiful and emotional day,” says de Rossi. “And one that we’ll never forget.”

Aww, it sounds like it was a beautiful ceremony, I can’t wait to see the pix in full. I just love Ellen and Portia together … they appear so right for one another. They both seem like such genuinely sweet people and I am thrilled that they can now be an officially, legal married couple. Much, much congrats and love goes out again to the happily wedded couple.

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Yesterday we woke up to the terribly sad news that comedian Bernie Mac had passed away at the age of 50 due to complications of pneumonia but it turns out that he also suffered from a lung disease called sarcoidosis which played a part in his passing. His sister-in-law speaks to People magazine about Bernie’s last days … additionally, in tribute to his untimely death, the famed Laugh Factory paid homage to Bernie on their marquee which faces Sunset Blvd:

Bernie Mac’s wife and daughter were with him until the very end, says the late comic’s sister-in-law in a personal and touching interview with PEOPLE that took place Saturday. Speaking of a heartbreaking moment between her younger sister, Rhonda, and the 50-year-old actor-comedian – who succumbed to complications from pneumonia in a Chicago hospital at 2 a.m. Saturday – Mary Ann Grossett says that the night before Mac died, “He struggled for his life. He couldn’t breathe. “He opened his eyes on his own and looked at Rhonda. She called his name, and he opened his eyes and nodded to her. She smiled at him and told him, ‘Don’t leave me … ‘I’m waiting for you to come back.’ He shrugged his shoulders, and she said that’s when she knew he was tired. He signaled to her that his body was tired” … The sister-in-law says Mac’s inflammatory lung disease contributed to his death. “He had sarcoidosis, but it was in remission,” she says. “But because he had it, his immune system was compromised. He had an infection … He was on a new medication that suppresses the immune system, and that’s where the pneumonia came from.” She reveals that Mac – having trouble breathing and running a fever – was actually hospitalized on July 24, eight days before the date given for his admittance. The actor was diagnosed with pneumonia and immediately placed on a ventilator. “He was critically ill when he was in the hospital,” says Gossett. “He was in intensive care the whole time.” She adds that doctors kept the star sedated, although he was conscious at times and he contracted a second strain of pneumonia while in the hospital … Mac’s funeral is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 15, at an undisclosed location. The family requests that donations be made to the Bernie Mac Foundation for Sarcoidosis, 40 E. Ninth St., Suite 601, Chicago IL 60605.

This is absolutely heartbreaking. I, for one, had no idea that he was so sick and had been struggling with his illness for so long. It’s a horribly sad notion to think that Bernie was bed-ridden and sedated for the past few weeks. He was such an incredibly funny man, he will be sorely missed. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family. Rest well, Bernie.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Here they are, the most talked about set of twin babies on planet Earth right now, Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Léon Jolie-Pitt making their worldwide debut (reportedly to the tune of $14 million bucks) on the cover of People magazine:

They are just 3 weeks old, but twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline are about to take the world by storm. In an exclusive interview and photos, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie offer PEOPLE an intimate look at their growing family. “It is chaos, but we are managing it and having a wonderful time,” Jolie tells PEOPLE of daily life at the Château Miraval in Provence, France, where the couple’s four older children – Maddox, 6, Pax, 4, Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, 2 – have been enjoying a summer of outdoor play (hide-and-seek is a favorite) on the château’s sprawling grounds. Adds Pitt: “[It's] still a cuckoo’s nest.” Fortunately, they already have some household helpers. “[Shiloh] and Z pick out [the twins'] clothes and help change and hold them,” says Jolie. “It’s sweet – they are little mommies.”

The magazine will devote 19 pages of Brangelina family photos in this double-issue of the magazine which should be now available for purchase on newstands. I find it interesting that Shiloh Nouvel, the firstborn child of Brangelina, is also featured on the cover of the mag without any mention of any of the other adopted children. HMMM. In any event, the first photo is finally out and folks can now snap up issues of People magazine to get their fix of the Brangelina twins to their heart’s content. After the jump, check out the cover of Hello! magazine which features a different photo of the twins as they make their international debut …

Set your clocks and calendars, y’all … People.com has announced that they will release the first official photo of Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon, better known as the Brangelina twins, online this Sunday evening at 7pm ET:

I guess the rumors that People magazine shelled out the big bucks for the first photos of the twins are true … and I understand that the kids were photographed last week and the publication rights will be split between People in the US and Hello magazine in Europe. Where will you be come 7pm ET this Sunday night?

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Thomas Beatie, known the world over as the formerly “pregnant man”, and his wife Nancy show off the first pics of their newborn baby girl Susan Juliette in this week’s issue of People magazine. Good Morning America ran a short piece on the photos this morning detailing portions of the baby’s birth and providing deets on the home life of the new family:

It’s been three weeks since his blue-eyed baby debuted in this world, but Thomas Beatie – better known around the world as the Pregnant Man – can already say this about his daughter’s personality: “She’s easygoing and mellow and intelligent.” On June 29 at 8:55 p.m., Beatie, 34, a former female beauty pageant contestant, made cultural history as perhaps the first legally transgender male to give birth, bringing into the world a 9 lbs., 5 oz. baby girl named Susan Juliette. “She’s so precious, I just can’t stop staring at her,” Thomas tells PEOPLE in his first interview since he and wife Nancy returned with their bundle from Bend, Oregon’s St. Charles Medical Center. “Just holding her is the best feeling in the world.” Susan – named after Thomas’s mother and conceived through artificial insemination with donor sperm – arrived after 40 hours of labor, with Nancy at Thomas’s side acting as his coach. “When Susan finally came out, it was like in slow motion,” says Thomas. “I was full of wonder.” Echoes Nancy: “There were tears of joy.” Both father and daughter came through the birth in perfect health. “I weigh two pounds less than I did before I got pregnant,” adds Thomas. “And I don’t have a single stretch mark!” At home, the couple is adjusting to their new nightly schedule: Nancy breastfeeding (by induced lactation, a process using hormones and physical stimulation with a breast pump) and Thomas keeping company while watching TV. Crows Thomas, “Susan is a miracle! And we’re finally the family we’ve been dreaming of.”

Here is video of GMA showing off the People magazine photos on the air earlier this morning:

Already the family is referring to baby Susan as “Daddy’s Little Princess” (for obvs reasons). While Susan was named after Thomas‘s mother, her middle name Juliette was given after her mother Nancy‘s middle name. Susan was born via natural vaginal childbirth and father and daughter were able to leave the hospital 4 days after the baby was born. By all accounts, everyone is happy and healthy and I couldn’t wish more for the family. It is my sincere hope that the family is able to live out their lives in peace and quiet. I’m pretty astounded by the uproar that the Beaties have generated because of all of this. Thomas Beatie told Oprah Winfrey that it isn’t a woman or man’s desire to have children, it’s a human desire … and I couldn’t agree more. Best of luck and much happiness Beaties! Congrats on your beautiful baby girl.

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In an effort to squelch the rampant rumors surrounding the state of her 7 year marriage to Guy Ritchie, Madonna had her longtime publicist, Liz Rosenberg, release an official statement to People magazine denying that the couple are planning to divorce or that she has been having an affair with Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees (or anyone else for that matter). Here is the full text of Madonna‘s official statement to People magazine:

“Madonna’s husband Guy arrived in New York last night to be with his wife and family. There are no plans for Madonna and Guy to divorce. Madonna and Alex have the same manager, Guy Oseary. They have met. They know each other and Madonna took her kids to a Yankees game last week. There’s really not anything to comment on beyond that. It’s nothing new that people are airing tons of dirty laundry Madonna’s way lately – much of it untrue. By the way, rumors of Madonna and Lil Wayne are quite exaggerated as well.

And that, folks, should be that … at least for a little while. I’m glad OPTION C turned out to be the right reason for Guy‘s arrival in NYC last night. While I’m sure that the constant divorce rumors are a pain in the ass to deal with all the time, I’m sure a PR savvy svengali like Madonna can at least appreciate the extra press that she is “enjoying”, especially in light of her upcoming world tour.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]

As much as I’d love to spend the day talking about bulges and babies, there is other goss to be had … and other hawtness to be gawked at … here is a pic of Mario Lopez as he made his way out of the Schoenfeld Theatre in NYC yesterday (where he is currently starring in A Chorus Line on Broadway) showing off his centerfold pic in the new Hottest Bachelors of 2008 issue of People magazine:

In this issue, Mario (who was chosen at the Hottest of the Hottest Bachelors of 2008 by the mag) recreates at least 2 famous photos of other celebs in various states of undress. The first pic we saw yesterday was a recreation of one of the famous Marky Mark Wahlberg for Calvin Klein underwear pics and this centerfold is a recreation of the famous Burt Reynolds nekkid on a bearskin rug pic. Because I’ve yet to see the issue, I’m not sure if Mario recreates many other famous photos like this … tho, I’d love it if he had recreated the other famous nekkid Burt Reynolds pic. You gotta love that Mario was a good sport about shooting these pics … I’m curious to see just how much love to give ;)

[Photo credit: INFdaily]

People magazine just revealed its list of the Hollywood’s Hottest Bachelors of 2008, choosing Mario Lopez to top the list. Here are a few pics of some of the bachelors who made their list this year and a portion of People‘s interview with Mario Lopez:

Mario Lopez may be PEOPLE’s Hottest Bachelor – but the A Chorus Line star and fitness buff has a shocking admission: He was a chubby baby. “I looked like a sumo wrestler,” Lopez says in a new interview. “My mom had to pull the fat folds apart when she bathed me!” But that’s all in his past. As fans know, Lopez has mined his love of fitness to create his own book, Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness. The exercise guru, who is recently single, says that a full slate of projects has kept him off the dating market but that hasn’t stopped him from thinking about dating completely. “I like a girl who’s from a modest sort of upbringing, because it’s more relatable,” he says, explaining what he looks for in a potential girlfriend. “I’m a first-generation American. My parents [Elvia and Mario Sr.] emigrated from Mexico and live in the same house I grew up in Chula Vista, Calif. I’d feel weird if the girl was a little too uppity or affluent, because I’m a very down-home kind of guy.”

It’s interesting that Mario was chosen to top the list of People‘s Hottest Bachelors because he *just* broke up with his girlfriend Karina Smirnoff (of Dancing with the Stars fame) just a few weeks ago (I wonder who the #2 guy was/is). In any event, the full list of bachelors who made the cut this year is revealed in the new issue of People magazine (which hits newsstands on Friday) but People.com has a gallery of some of the guys who made the cut. I totes understand why dudes like Adam Levine, Terrance Howard and Gerard Butler made the list but I’m surprised that Bryan Spears (Britney‘s older brother) and Hunter Johansson (Scarlett‘s twin brother) made the list. Neither one is a big name in Hollywood and, yet, they still are listed among the hottest bachelors in Hollywood. Something tells me that the People list was pretty thin so they had to beef it up with extraneous family guys (not that either Bryan or Hunter aren’t hawt enough, I just think they’re not famous enough). In any event, congrats (?) goes out to the lucky dudes who made the list … I suppose kudos are in order for being hawt and single.

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