Clay Aiken was on Good Morning America this morning talking to Diane Sawyer. They showed footage of him with his adorable six week old baby, Parker Foster Aiken, and the baby’s mother, his best friend and producer, Jaymes Foster. Overall he came across as nonchalant and unconcerned with any fallout from his public announcement this week that he’s gay. Sawyer tried to get all serious with him at some points and wanted him to reveal his pain, but he wasn’t having it. Clay seemed genuine in his responses to me and like he has reached a point and has the attitude that he’s ready to come out, come what may.

Aiken opened the interview by explaining his decision to have a child.

On how he decided to have a child
“James was ending a relationship, a marriage she had been in for over 20 years. She had always wanted kids, I’ve always wanted kids. Being a gay man it’s something for me that wasn’t going to be an option anyway.”

On why he came out
“I think, it’s obviously something in this day and age people in my situation don’t have an opportunity to keep anything of theirs personal. But at the same time, I have a son and it’s kind of a decision that I made along with Jaymes and along with friends and family that ‘I can’t raise a kid to lie… keep secrets.’

I’m not making an announcement at this time. I’m speaking about it so people will stop asking questions about it.”

On coming out to friends and family
“I don’t think I admitted [I was gay] to anyone outside of myself until 2003 when I was on Idol…

“I grew up never caring what people thought of me… I got picked on for everything… when I got on Idol and people were cheering me on… there you are in an environment that is more open and more accepting and… you don’t feel like such an outcast.

“I didn’t tell but one person. I told Kimberley Locke who was a contestant with me on Idol. She was the… first person I’d ever told. She kept it to herself for years… I hope she still ain’t told nobody.”

[Transcribed from video of Clay Aiken's appearance on GMA, 9/25/08]

Diane Sawyer then tried to get Clay to talk seriously about the problems he had coming to terms with his sexuality and said “There must have been suffering in the beginning… when you are grappling with it.”

Clay didn’t take the bait and answered “I’ve always been pretty stubborn and I’ve always thought that I can handle more than most people could.”

Sawyer said “I don’t believe you [that it didn't bother you]” and Clay remained nonchalant, and said “What am I going to do about it? Nothing.”

Clay then laughed when he described how he came out to his mother on the day his brother, a US Marine, was shipped out to Iraq. He said it was harder to tell his brother though than anyone else, and that his bother said “Ok, is that it?” and then it was over. Clay said his brother’s response gives him a lot of hope that the next generation, and his son’s generation, will be more accepting. Clay said it’s not his place to tell the older generation that they’re wrong, though.

As for how his coming out is going to affect his career, or if he delayed it because he didn’t want to jeopardize his career, Clay made it clear that it was more about him coming to terms with it personally and with his family before deciding to go public.

On his fans
“I don’t have any designs on the fact that… every single person is going to be perfectly ok with it. I’m sure that there are people who will grapple with it. I’m sure that emotions will run the gamut from people who already knew to people who really believed it wasn’t true.

On why he didn’t come out earlier: it wasn’t because of his career
“That moment in my career, I had not told anyone. I had not been comfortable enough to talk to anyone. It’s taken me awhile to have that faith in society. To accept the fact that people are more accepting and more open-minded and more loving and caring and less interested in your personal life than I initially though.”

On protecting his grandmother
“One of the biggest concerns to me has been my grandmother and wanting to protect her. It’s not a secret from her, but one of my biggest concerns is how are her friends going to treat her? How are my mother’s friends going to treat her?

She [my mother] and I had a really great talk a few weeks ago and I could see it for the first time as a parent. With Parker I want him to be this that and the other… I’ve had to remind myself, you can’t dream too specifically [for your child]… She [my mom] has done marvelously…

I can’t tell anybody they’re wrong. Patience is the most valuable asset. Things are going to take time. Things don’t change overnight.

[Transcribed from video of Clay Aiken's appearance on GMA, 9/25/08]

I came away from this with a lot of respect for Clay. It sounds like it was hard for him to come out to his family and that they’re still not completely ok with it, but that as a father he’s reached a point in his life where he’s come to terms with everything and is ready to be open about it.

You can watch the video of Clay’s interview on GMA’s website, but it’s not embeddable and restarted by itself a few times when I was trying to view it.

Clay Aiken is shown at the opening night of of the Broadway musical ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ in NY on 9/18/08. Credit: Joseph Marzullo / WENN