The pastor of a church in Wichita, Kansas where Clay Aiken is scheduled to sing at their Christmas concert wanted to assure elders that Aiken is not the heathen the media make him out to be. He sent out a letter saying that Aiken is a good Christian boy who is not gay. He even compared the stories that Aiken likes guys to the rumors that Mister Rogers was gay because he was a little light on his toes, too:

“There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Clay’s concert,” a church source told The Enquirer. “Some members didn’t want him to perform there if he was indeed homosexual.”

“The church received a lot of attacks when it was announced Clay would be performing, so Pastor Posson thought it was in the church’s best interest to circulate a letter.”

In the shocking letter, obtained by The Enquirer, Posson stressed that 28-year-old Clay is a Christian who does not “drink, smoke, swear or womanize.”

Posson also referenced a July 2003 interview with “Rolling Stone” magazine in which Clay denied being gay. Posson wrote that Clay also gave an interview with a Christian Web site in which he said he was not gay.

The pastor also makes a bizarre comparison in the letter, saying that Clay’s mannerisms and “soft” nature are similar to those of TV’s Mister Rogers. “If appearance and voice alone determine sexual orientation, then Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers), a conservative ordained Presbyterian minister, must have been one as well,” Posson wrote.

“By the way, (Rogers’) 51-year-old marriage ended upon his death in 2003.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, October 15, 2007]

That’s precious that he compares him to Mr. Rogers! All Clay needs to do is stop soliciting sex online and get married to a woman and the churches where he’s set to perform won’t need to issue statements to assure everyone he’s straight.

The pastor also says in his letter that the Green Beret guy who said he got with Clay Aiken has recanted his story about a night of passion with the singer. The Enquirer points out that it’s not true, and the man never took back his claim that he and Clay had sex in a hotel room in January of last year.

It was unclear to me what religion this church follows, so I googled them and sure enough they have a pretty extensive website, which only makes sense considering that they could afford to have Clay Aiken sing at their Christmas concert.

Skimming over the statements on their website (which is the only way I could get through them since I have an aversion to all things religious - blame it on thousands of hours clocked in Catholic church as a child) it seems they are your standard Bible-believing church, and say the word of the Bible is supreme. A lot of people quote scripture to claim that homosexuality is wrong, but there are a ton of other random things in there that people would never consider the ultimate word because they’re just ridiculous. Commentor Fabiola Thing points out quite a few in her comments on a post about Wentworth Miller:

Homosexuality is wrong because the Bible says so? Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. Exodus 21:7 sanctions selling one’s daughter into slavery. Exodus 35:2 clearly states anyone working on the Sabbath should be put to death.

Clay Aiken will be performing on November 26th at the church, and if you live near Wichita, Kansas or are enough of a Claymate to drive or fly to the event, you can get tickets on the floor for just $35.

Clay is shown in the header image on 8/8/07 outside his hotel in NY. Thanks to WENN for this photo.

Clay Aiken is one of those celebrities that annoys the crap out of me – and as a result, I tend to pay attention. I think that’s the same angle a lot of famous people take to get attention. His whole “I must expose my feet every chance I get” thing really freaks me out, but I can handle it. But thinking he’s sexy? That I just cannot take. Apparently part of Clay’s new repertoire involves a brief cover of Justin Timberlake’s now-classic “SexyBack.” My God, I hope he doesn’t cover JT’s “Dick in a Box.”

Did you notice that as the video cuts out, he starts in on a cover of Billy Ray Cyrus’s “Achy Breaky Heart?” That’s a bit more acceptable. What would make Clay think this is okay? And isn’t he loudly, annoyingly conservative Christian? Emphasis on the conservative? The guy really is an enigma. The “sexy” faces he makes are priceless. Clay, I don’t care whether you’re gay or straight, I don’t care whether you ever tell us if you’re gay or straight, I just care that you never do this to the internet again.

In slightly less horrifying Clay Aiken news, the red-headed sex machine will appear on an episode of Fox’s “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?”

“We know Clay Aiken has a voice, but how’s his brain? We’ll find out when he appears on ‘Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?’

“Aiken will try to win money for his foundation that runs a camp for kids with developmental disabilities. If he answers all his questions correctly, the foundation will get a million dollars.

“Aiken will tape his appearance August 28th. No air date has been set yet.”

[From ABC affiliate abc13.com]

I really hate it when otherwise contemptible celebrities do something good. Like having charities for kids with developmental disabilities. Stupid Clay Aiken. You’re so good, and so bad, all at once.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Clay at the Emmy Awards in 2005. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Well the drama that is Clay Aiken’s foot appears to have wound down a little bit. Clay addressed what actually happened on Entertainment Tonight.

“While sleeping on a plane over the weekend, my foot evidently found a home on the arm rest of the passenger seated directly in front of me. I didn’t realize I was causing the woman any distress until she woke me up with a quick hit to the chest.

“Unfortunately, being that this happened on a plane, the FBI was called in to investigate and eventually we were all sent on our way. I’d like to thank everyone for their concern; I am fine and have taken steps to prevent any foot wandering in the future.”

[From Entertainment Tonight]

I’m not really Clay Aiken’s biggest fan – there have been so many reports about his rude behavior, and his tendency to lecture people. He (or his publicist) put a neutral spin on this, but unfortunately this isn’t Clay’s first foot-on-a-plane incident. On June 5th, Celebitchy reported that Aiken took of his shoes and socks on a plane, then put his bare, incredibly smelly, feet up on his assistant’s lap. The stench overpowered the whole cabin.

I think Clay has some serious foot issues. In a July 2003 Rolling Stone cover article on him, Aiken admitted that he is “scared of water, detests house cats, vastly prefers instant grits to real and bites his toenails.” I think this is a case of three strikes you’re out. Two feet on a plane plus one toenail biter equals a guy with foot issues. As Anderson Cooper wrote a short time later in an article for Details, “If the image of young Clay in a red leather jacket salivating on his big toe doesn’t make you ill, I have nothing left to say to you.” So I’ll just leave it there.

During his interview with Entertainment Tonight, Clay randomly ends by asking people to donate to UNICEF. Though it’s kind of unusual given the point of the interview, I’m going to include the quote and a link, since it’s an amazing thing to do.

“Now that I have your attention,” he continues, “if you’d like to learn more about how you can help the world’s children, please visit www.unicefusa.org.”

[From Entertainment Tonight]

The NY Post reported that Clay Aiken was seen out at a gay club in Prague:

The club is actually called “Friends,” and has a boy’s night called “Candyshop.”

It’s definitely a gay bar, though, and bills itself as “Gay Prague’s premiere venue.”

There’s even a Flickr photostream for the club. (Which is how we got the image for the composite above. Apologies to “Friends” and their patrons.) The place looks like a lot of fun and we’re sure Clay had a blast.

We think Clay should come out and be proud of his orientation. He’s a talented guy and can sell more albums as a gay artist.

The Post Chronicle reports that two different sources state that the webcam pictures of Clay Aiken may have been a hoax by entrepreneurs trying to promote a gay porn movie:

Coti Collins is a female impersonator who has toured with Reba McIntire and is the current “Miss Gay Florida America.” Even in this picture in full drag, she does bear a resemblance to Aiken.

Poor Clay Aiken, he just can’t get a break. On the heels of his last sex scandal comes news that he looked for another partner online. It doesn’t seem like much came of the latest “scandal,” however, as Star Magazine simply reports an innocuous IM session between the two:

Uh, big deal. Clay needs to come out already. As for the supposed lawsuit by the “Claymates” or whatever the hell they call themselves, every celebrity misrepresents themselves. Christina Aguilera wears too much makeup - do you want to sue her for hiding her real face?