American Idol runner up Clay Aiken only came out of the closet a couple of years ago after he fathered a son with his female best friend. Around that time he said that he’d never been in a romantic relationship, and that was assumed to mean both men and women. That soon changed when he hooked up with another Broadway star, Reed Kelly, who he was dating for about two years up until this summer. Now Clay may have a new boyfriend, an actor and underwear model from Texas named Jeff Walters.

A Pink reader who wishes remain nameless has given me the head’s up that Clay has found new love with a local community theater actor in Texas named Jeff Walters.

According to my source and lots of chatter on Twitter this week, Clay has been spending a lot of time with Jeff in Texas this week. Clay was in attendance at a local production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in Dallas to see Jeff in the role of Rocky. The couple then were spotted at a performance of The Drowsy Chaperon the following night then they showed up at the Gaylord Texan Ice Show the day after. In the days that followed, Clay and Jeff made coupley appearances at Pinkberry, Borders Bookstore and at the movies to see Black Swan. It turns out that Jeff Walters is also a part-time model for 2(x)ist underwear.

[From Pink is The New Blog via DListed]

That’s nice! Clay’s new boyfriend is geeky hot and they look cute together. Is anyone else getting Hogwarts vibes from their matching snowsuits? It’s the hoods along with the black and blue color scheme. (I checked and that’s kind of like Slytherin. Update: I guess it’s closer to Ravenclaw! Thanks for the help on that!) I would observe that they must be serious if they’re dressing alike, but apparently everyone who goes to that Gaylord ice show gets to wear a blue jacket like that because it’s only 9 degrees Fahrenheit in the exhibit. Plus, “Gaylord” is just the name for a hotel and convention center in Dallas and apparently has nothing to do with how fabulous their ice exhibit may be. It seems fitting, though.

Photos are via DListed, where there are more

On Tuesday someone mentioned Clay Aiken in the comments on our story on how Adam Lambert had disrespected Susan Boyle. Reader Loca said “I think [Adam Lambert will] end up like Clay Aiken….someone nobody remembers or cares about.” I read that and was wondering what happened to Clay as we haven’t heard from him in a long time. Lo and behold there’s a story today about how Clay Aiken is set to speak at a gay rights event in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. I think the last time we heard from Aiken he was ripping on the show that made him famous, American Idol, and saying that Adam Lambert’s singing was so bad he thought his “ears would bleed.” Before that, Aiken made more headlines in September, 2008 with the news that he was coming out of the closet and had fathered a baby boy through artificial insemination. People had assumed for some time that Aiken was gay, but he wasn’t out to his family and it was a big deal to him to break the news.

Aiken was provided a speech to read from the Human Rights Campaign group, but he says it was “too political” and that he has written his own. He’s trying to stay positive and speak out for equal rights for everyone, particularly his son “if he’s gay.” I understand that he’s saying he’s trying to make the world a better place for the next generation and that it means more to him now that he’s a dad. He worded it poorly though, and that statement is sure to be misinterpreted.

Aiken will deliver a speech about gay rights this weekend at the Human Rights Campaign Carolinas gala in Raleigh, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday. Actress Meredith Baxter, who recently said she is a lesbian, also will deliver a speech.

The 31-year-old Raleigh native, pop singer and 2003 “American Idol” runner-up said he wrote his own speech after remarks provided for him proved too political, including a slam aimed at former President George W. Bush.

“I don’t feel like this is the place to be horribly politically charged and bash people and talk about the wrongs that have been done,” he said. “My goal is to be hopeful, that it’s time for everyone to have equal rights.”

Aiken says his goal is to urge Americans to support equal rights for all. He says that means allowing homosexuals to marry and enjoy rights that heterosexual couples take for granted like inheritance and hospital visitation. Aiken said that goal may take decades.

“It’s more important to me, as a parent, that my son have all the rights – if he’s gay – than it is for me. I don’t want to do anything today that’s going to inhibit, or be a detriment to, his rights,” he said.

Aiken’s son, Parker, was conceived via in vitro fertilization and born in August 2008. Parker’s mother is music producer Jaymes Foster. Foster, who lives in California and Aiken, who lives in the Raleigh area, share custody.

Aiken said he would probably attend Saturday’s event with his bodyguard and without family members or friends. Some family members have handled news of Aiken’s homosexuality better than others, he said.

“Some Southern families like to sweep things under the rug,” he said. “We just don’t talk about it.”

[From Huffington Post]

That’s sad that he doesn’t feel completely accepted by his family. I remember seeing a special on Clay coming out. His brother, who was in the military and was just about to go back to Iraq for a second deployment, seemed ok with it and said “is that it?” He explained that his mom was more upset and was crying about it. If anything he’s probably having trouble being open with his mom. I bet she’s doting on her new grandson, though and that little Parker, one and a half, goes a long way into healing any kind of rift they might have.

Aiken seems kind of stuck up and defiant to me, but he’s certainly not as bad as Adam Lambert, to compare him to another Idol runner-up he seems to have a beef with. At least Aiken is getting press for important issues now, although he’s also done his share of bitching about the competition.

Clay Aiken took the arrogant Billy Bob Thornton route in his half-assed apology for slamming the show that made him famous and criticizing American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert. In a post to his blog last week, Aiken said that Idol showed “blatant favoritism” and that the contest was “more about the slick productions and polished contestants than it has been about finding the raw talent that it did in its first three seasons.” He also sharply criticized Lambert’s ability, saying that while listening to him sing of “Ring of Fire” I “thought my ears would bleed.”

In Aiken’s follow-up post, instead of admitting he was typing faster than he could think, he proceeded to criticize people for paying attention to him and not to more important stuff like war. Aiken, that’s exactly what Billy Bob Thornton said, and he’s about to slip back into obscurity too. He also claimed his words were taken out of context when most of us cut and pasted his entire blog entry because it was password protected. The real issue is that no one was willing to read through all of Aiken’s whiny post.

Aiken didn’t apologize to American Idol, the show that helped him achieve whatever crappy career he has, but he did offer some sort of apology to Lambert. He said he wasn’t criticizing him as a person, but that Lambert shouldn’t really care about what he said about him anyway:

Aiken writes: “I’ll be the first to admit that my opinion is just that, only my opinion, but for as much as some of the bloggers seem to dislike me and care so little about my thoughts, they sure can waste a lot of their space on what I say! If only many of them took the time to pay attention to important things like the US economy and the welfare of the world’s children. But… nah… I could blog about that type of stuff anytime and most wouldn’t think twice, but let me say something that they can pick and choose quotes and misinterpret me… and it’s showtime! I never assumed my opinion mattered so much! I guess I may have been wrong.”

“That said, since my previous blog got dissected like a biology lab frog, i suppose I should clarify and even retract some of what I wrote. I am sure that some were upset by my choice of words describing my opinion of a performance I heard from Adam Lambert. I hope no one actually believed that blood truly poured forth from my ears when I heard him. I obviously meant it as a colorful statement to imply that I did not enjoy what I heard. Any performer hopes that their music will appeal to all people, but no singer realistically expects it to. God knows, I am SURE there are PLENTY of people who can’t stand to hear me sing either. I wouldn’t dream of assuming that, and I am sure that far worse things have been said about my performances than I would even venture to type here. To me, that’s fine. I don’t expect unanimous, nor even majority support for my music. But, my guess is Adam doesn’t either. I would not venture to make judgements [sic] on the personality or demeanor of anyone I don’t know, so none of what I said in my previous blog was directed as a ‘slam’ on Adam as a person. At the same time, I wouldn’t dream of slamming him as an entertainer. He does what he does, because he enjoys it, and he obviously has many fans who enjoy it as well. If what I said in my previous blog regarding my impression of a single performance from Adam upset or offended any of his fans, I expect that the mature ones will realize that it was simply a poorly worded metaphor describing my personal tastes. The only person I would really dream of apologizing to is Adam. And the irony is, if he’s smart he couldn’t give a crap what I think of his ‘Ring of Fire’ performance. As an entertainer, Adam knows that one person’s opinion of one performance really matters a little less than zero, in the grand scheme of things. He could not have gotten on Idol (nor made it as far as he did) without an immense amount of talent. He surely doesn’t need my approval to know he has a gift. At the same time, he realizes that amazing talent doesn’t always equal universal appeal. (I could NEVER have the amount of skill and talent that ballet dancers have! that’s talent! But, I don’t particularly enjoy it!) I am sure that I will have plenty of opportunities in the coming years to hear Adam sing. I imagine he’ll be around for years to come. But in the meantime, I definitely don’t want to stoop to the level of so many negative freaks on the internet… so, I do apologize to Adam for my colorful (and negative) choice of words. I hope he can forgive me. I imagine he doesn’t give a d—! God knows he shouldn’t.”

[From US Magazine]

That’s rich, “I definitely don’t want to stoop to the level of so many negative freaks on the internet… so, I do apologize to Adam for my colorful (and negative) choice of words.” Notice that he didn’t offer an unqualified apology and admitted that he’s apologizing because he doesn’t want to look bad. Aiken, you just proved that you’re a “negative freak” and by bad mouthing people for reporting what you said you’re only going to earn some more negative coverage. Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, and you can’t just dress it up in a sea of words and expect people not to notice.

Adam Lambert is shown at the American Idol final on 5/20/09. Clay Aiken is shown at the GLAAD media awards on 5/28/09. Credit: PRPhotos.com

A few weeks ago “American Idol” producers snubbed Clay Aiken when he showed up on the set unannounced. Clay apparently thought they’d roll out the red carpet, but instead they quickly whisked him around backstage and waved goodbye. Clay wanted to give a pep talk to the finalists – a notion the producers quickly disabused him of. They’ve had a long-running beef with him for leaving the “American Idol” management firm, and getting Kelly Clarkson to join him.

Instead of accepting the tit for tat, Clay took to his blog last night (which you can only access by paying $30 a year for some super Claymate membership) to slam the show for generally sucking. He’s got a lot of beefs with the judges, the contestants, and the show on the whole, which he believes has become too commercialized and doesn’t focus enough on finding raw talent. Instead Clay says they look for people that are already perfect – and thus there’s little room for improvement throughout the course of the competition.

I think many voters got sick of being “told who to vote for”. I think many were turned off by the blatant favoritism shown towards one contestant. Therefore, on that last night, they used their votes against a contestant that they were tired of hearing about and for the contestant who had been written off. And, at the same time, I think they voted AGAINST an American Idol that has, for four years now, been more about the slick productions and polished contestants than it has been about finding the raw talent that it did in its first three seasons.

Those votes for Kris were also votes to return the show to its roots of finding “real” contestants with undiscovered talent and giving them the chance to grow and shine. They were votes that said “we’re tired of seeing contestants who already seem to know it all”.

Will American Idol choose to listen to the resounding and clarion call that those voters gave them?…. “Enough with the pretention. More Rubens, more Clays, more Fantasias and Tamyras and Kellys please.” My faith has always been in the voters. I think they have gotten it right every year (mine included). It’s now up to American Idol to decide if it will finally REALLY listen to the folks that keep it on the air.

[From Clay Aiken’s blog via Gawker]

Clay’s also not a fan of Adam Lambert. In a big, big way. Apparently Lambert makes Clay’s ears bleed. Which is funny, given that a lot of people feel that way about Clay’s singing. He then tries to temper the comment by saying other people he trusts like Lambert, and he only saw one of his performances. But apparently that was enough to set his opinion in stone. He also says “Idol” is just as much a personality competition as a music one, and he’s not into Adam Lambert on both levels.

Now that it’s all over, and for the record…. I couldn’t be happier about the way AI ended this year. I only turn the show on once a season, and only to see what the set looks like each year. This year, I happened to turn it during the minute that Adam Lambert was singing “Ring of Fire” and, at that moment, thought my ears would bleed. Contrived, awful, and slightly frightening! I wasn’t really a fan and found myself surprised whenever folks told me that they liked him. Granted, I never saw another performance (and many folks who I trust said that he was great) but I can’t imagine I would have enjoyed it. Just not my cup of tea at all. To each his own. I never saw Kris sing on the show, but whether he was good or not is really relative. It’s usually a matter of taste, right? But Idol is not always a matter of musical taste only. It’s about the person you like. From what little I saw, Kris seemed likable. (That’s not to say that Adam isn’t just as likable as anyone.. maybe more so… I don’t know) When Ruben and I were standing next to each other every night (many years ago) you had two equally talented, equally unlikely, equally unpolished contestants…. so it really was a matter of taste as to who was voted for. While some may argue that one of us was hyped more than the other, I don’t feel that was the case. However, this year, there was an obvious bias. Not even having watched the show, I can tell you that I was WELL aware of the bias from the judges as to who should win. In my opinion, that is awfully unattractive. I don’t think I am alone

In my opinion, it all often comes down to that last night of voting. Until the finale, folks are voting for the contestant that they want to see continue. But, I believe that on that last night, the dynamic changes. No longer forced to choose one person that they want to see win, the audience can effectively vote AGAINST the person that they don’t want to see win. In the case of season two this might have happened. There may have been some folks who voted for myself or Ruben because they didn’t like the other of us. I was the nerdy little girly boy who some didn’t want to see win, so they may have voted for Ruben. I don’t know. .. But again, I feel that Ruben and I were fairly matched. We both had our detractors and negatives, but I feel we were both very worthy of being on that stage in that moment, and either of us would have been worthy of winning. The show was different then, and folks made it in seasons 1-3 because they were “real” people who happened to sing/entertain well. But, somewhere along the way, AI stopped being about real people.

[From Clay Aiken’s blog via Gawker]

My favorite part was how Clay only tunes in once a year to see the set. What a strange but funny insult.

I’ve generally found “American Idol” to be far too cheesy to watch. I can handle excessive violence and sexuality, but excessive cheese is something I just cannot bear. Clay’s career is sort of at a standstill right now. He hasn’t faded into oblivion like some former contestants, and he got great reviews in “Spamalot.” But he seems to think he’s this pillar of show business who’s in a position to mentor AI contestants and snipe at producers for not running the show to his liking. It seems like he’s turning his attention to critiquing everyone else instead of himself.

Here’s Clay Aiken emerging from the “Byron & Tracey” hair salon in Beverly Hills with a new hairdo on April 25th. Images thanks to Pacific Coast News.

Clay Aiken recently popped by the set of “American Idol” without being invited – or giving any warning. Nonetheless, he expected the red carpet to be rolled out for him – and got the shaft instead. Producers ran him through the backstage really quickly, refusing to let him speak to the contestants. Apparently he was hoping to mentor them, especially Adam Lambert, who was said to be Clay’s favorite. But no one from the show was interested, to say the least.

“He was given the nickel tour, allowed limited access to the backstage area and sent packing,” said the insider. “he was upset.”

Producers and reps from “American Idol” have had a long-simmering feud with Clay because he was one of the first contestant to bolt from 19 Entertainment, the management company that oversees the recording deals, merchandising, touring, sponsorship, and movie deals for “Idol” stars.

Network execs believe that Clay encouraged Kelly Clarkson to cut her ties with the show as well.

“They’ve always held a grudge against Clay for that,” revealed the insider. “So when he showed up at the ‘Idol’ studios and asked if he could give a little pep talk to the remaining finalists, they told Clay thanks… but no thanks.

“It was made clear to him that he was not welcome.”

The rejection was just the most recent blow to the 30-year-old’s ego. Late last year, he was dumped by his record company, RCA.

Added the insider: “‘Idol’” execs feel he’s trying to use the show to resuscitate his career.”

[From the Enquirer, May 18th, 2009, print ed.]

Burn. I can’t really blame Clay, Kelly, and whoever else joined them in leaving their management company. All of the music the American Idols put out sounds the exact same, until they get their own management and control. You know how you always want to vomit whenever you hear the two finalists perform their last song? It’s always specially written just for them, and includes a lot of creative lyrics about hope and destiny set to the backtrack of me vomiting. And you’re always sitting there thinking, “Didn’t they sing this exact same song during the last four finales?” Yeah, because there’s one gibbon with a typewriter pounding out the lyrics behind the stage. It’s crap. So I say good for whoever moves on to something bigger and better, because a lot of them do have talent, but “Idol” squashes their uniqueness. Anyhoo… I had a point here.

Yes! I don’t blame Clay for leaving, but unfortunately his sound is an exception to that whole diatribing paragraph above. His voice was made for Muzak. He’s not going to do well anywhere, CD-wise. Broadway – that was where he shined. Maybe he was trying to ingratiate himself to AI producers. If that was the case, I’d tell him not to bother, and stick to the stage anyway.

Here’s Clay with Tyra Banks at the GLAAD Media Awards in New York City on March 28th. Images thanks to Fame Pictures .

Clay Aiken has a follow-up interview with People Magazine after his mildly revelatory cover story in late September that read “Yes, I’m gay.” He posed with his now four and a half month old son, Parker, who was conceived through in vitro fertilization with Clay’s best friend, female music producer Jaymes Foster. There are rumors that we’ve reported here that Clay, 30, and Jaymes, 50, want to have another baby together. Given Clay’s latest statements, he might not be looking to expand his family soon and sounds like he’s more interested in cherishing the one son he has. The Broadway star told People that his son is still very dependent, but added that he wants to spend more time with him now that his stint in “Spamalot” is coming to an end:

“At the end of the day, Parker is the most important thing of the year, and of my life, without question,” Aiken, 30, tells PEOPLE. “Having a son and that type of responsibility is obviously going to be something that I remember forever…”

As for his life as a new parent, Aiken will return to full-time fatherhood – joining Foster, 50, in his native North Carolina – after Jan. 4, when he finishes his run on Broadway as Sir Robin in Monty Python’s Spamalot.

“I want to spend time with Parker. He’s still uber-dependent,” Aiken says, laughing. “I’m ready for him to start talking. I’m ready for a little action!”

But Claymates need not worry: Aiken will return to his singing roots: “We’ll take a little bit of time, we’re not quitting or anything, we’re just gonna take it slow for a month or so and recollect once I get back,” he says. “I may never have any free time once Parker starts walking and talking!”

[From People]

Doesn’t it sound like Aiken is a little overwhelmed with fatherhood and raising a baby? He clearly adores his son but the subtext sounds like he finds it difficult and is looking forward to a time when he has more independence again. There’s no shame in hiring a nanny and Aiken has the resources to get help. I wonder how much help they have and if it’s overnight or if he and Jaymes do everything themselves. Aiken is said to have a new boyfriend, which could explain his maybe-yearning for his single days again.

It was a big deal for him to publicly declare his orientation as he’s from a conservative southern family and had to come out to his family before he made an announcement to the public. Aiken told People that he found the response he received “humbling” and hopes that he “will have an opportunity to open people’s eyes to different viewpoints and different possibilities in their life.”

Clay Aiken is shown on 10/24/08 at the Friars Club Roast of Matt Lauer. Credit: PRPhotos

The baby boy he fathered through artificial insemination with friend/roommate Jaymes Foster is only four months old, but American Idol contestant Clay Aiken is already excited at the thought of becoming a dad again in the near future. Apparently, Foster is on board with the idea too. Memories of labor pains sure do fade fast with some people.

Clay Aiken is enjoying every minute of being dad to 4-month-old Parker, and now he and the baby’s mother, music producer Jaymes Foster, are already trying to add to their brood. Clay and Jaymes’ relationship is strictly platonic, so they will be conceiving this child like the last, through IVF – and Jaymes, 50, is ready to begin the grueling process again.

“Clay’s sperm is already frozen and Jaymes has started taking vitamins,” an insider says. “They’ll probably begin the procedure right after the new year.”

And the happy dad’s love life is also progressing nicely: When the 30-year-old singer began his stint in Monty Python’s Spamalot last winter, he started dating Broadway dancer Reed Kelly. “Clay was gushing to everyone about how happy he was,” another insider says. “He said that he met someone really special.”

[From In Touch Weekly print version, Dec. 29, 2008]

I’m sure Clay is a great dad and all, but any article with the words “Clay,” “sperm” and “gushing” makes my stomach queasy. I do wonder how safe it is for a 50-year-old woman to be going through IVF to conceive a child. According to the March of Dimes (and the genetic counselor I saw when I found out I was pregnant), a woman over the age of 49 has a 1-in-10 chance of having a baby with Down Syndrome and other chromosomal defects. That’s a pretty high risk – one in ten births! But I’m sure these two have top doctors helping them. Good luck to both.

Clay Aiken is shown at Rosie O’Donnell’s Gala for Kids on Nov. 24. Photo credit:WENN.

Clay Aiken has never seemed to understand what the fuss is in terms of his sexual orientation. While this can be attributed to an unwillingness to come out of the closet, Clay’s also said he doesn’t see himself as a very sexual person – and I think that plays a part in it too. I think he genuinely doesn’t understand why people would care one way or the other, since he doesn’t really see himself in a possibly sexual way. But he did finally come out of the closet, noting that he needed to be open and honest because that’s the way he wants to raise his son.

Since then Clay has said he has no regrets about how he handled things, and he’s had to remind people that he’s still the exact same person he was before he came out.

“I would have preferred to separate my personal life from my professional life,” Aiken, 29, writes on his clayonline.com. “But, living as myself without discussing my sexuality publicly would have been as impossible.” Writing on various message boards, many Aiken fans expressed feelings of betrayal by the American Idol alum.

Aiken has no regrets about the way he handled his personal life over the past five years, saying he has “the same liberties and rights that every single gay man and woman in the world should have … the right to determine for myself when I was ready to discuss my personal life.”

Discussing himself in a 2003 Rolling Stone interview, Aiken opined that male celebrities are either considered womanizers or gay. “Since I’m neither one of those, people are completely concerned about me,” he said.

He says he will not apologize for the response, saying, “When this guy started asking me about things that I didn’t really know how to answer for myself, things that I was not yet ready to admit to folks like my mother and my family, things that I found intimidating and invasive, I responded in what I assumed was a benign way at the time.” In conclusion Aiken blogs, “I am not defined by my sexuality. It is, simply, a small facet of the same person I have always been. Nothing has changed.”

[From People]

I think it’s important to remember that while it’s normal to wonder about a lot of things that are ambiguous, Clay – and any gay person – has the right to come out when and how they want to. It’s not information they owe anyone. As People noted, he did explicitly state that he’s not gay, but I understand how that could happen if you haven’t prepared yourself on how to deal with that line of questioning. Though Clay’s the same person, I hope he has a sense of peace and happiness for being able to live his life out in the open.

Here’s Clay mingling with fans and signing autographs behind the stage of his hit show “Spamalot,” on September 30th. Images thanks to Fame.

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

People.com has posted the details of their semi-surprising cover story on Clay Aiken’s admission that he’s gay. The 29 year-old singer has finally put to rest rumors about his sexuality by admitting that he’s of the other persuasion and doesn’t want to hide it anymore. Aiken had a child, a baby boy, with an older female friend about six weeks ago. Parker Foster Aiken was conceived by in vitro fertilization and is being raised by Clay and the baby’s mother, music producer Jaymes Foster.

Clay told People that he decided to come out after he became a father because he wanted his son to live by his example and not hide things. He also called himself a “homosexual,” which seems like an oddly formal word to use, as D-Listed points out. Maybe it’s more commonly used in the south where he’s from.

“It was the first decision I made as a father,” Aiken, 29, tells the upcoming issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday. “I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn’t raised that way, and I’m not going to raise a child to do that.”

Aiken says he expects the news may overwhelm some of his fans. “Whether it be having a child out of wedlock, or whether it be simply being a homosexual, it’s going to be a lot,” said Aiken, who returned to Broadway last week as Sir Robin in Monty Python’s Spamalot.

[From People]

Clay was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is a born-again Christian. He says his mom started crying when he came out to her four years ago, but that she was “supportive and comforting” and has really grown a lot:

The born-again Christian singer also reveals how he told his mother Faye he’s gay four years ago. After dropping off his younger brother Brett, who was being deployed to Iraq, at Camp Lejeune, “I started crying in the car,” Aiken remembers. “It was dark. I was sitting there, thinking to myself. I don’t know why I started thinking about it … I just started bawling. She made me pull over the car and it just came out.”

So what was his mom’s reaction? “She started crying. She was obviously somewhat stunned. But she was very supportive and very comforting.” Even now, Aiken admits, “She still struggles with things quite a bit, but she’s come a long way.”

As for his rabid fans, often called Claymates, Clay says he never wanted to mislead them and hopes they understand:

“[I want my fans to] know that I’ve never intended to lie to anybody at all. … But if they leave, I don’t want them to leave hating me.”

Do you think Clay took a calculated risk realizing he could score the cover of People by coming out? Are Ricky Martin and his twins next?