Clay aiken is he gay
Clay Aiken says he beaten “50%” of his fans after he came out as gay in 2008
Clay Aiken, who got his big break in melody in 2003 as runner-up on Season 2 on American Idol, says he lost “50%” of his fans after he came out as gay in 2008.
Aiken’s coming out was partly influenced by the birth of his son, Parker Foster Aiken, who was conceived via in vitro fertilisation with his friend Jaymes Foster.
“Back then it was a huge deal,” he said in a new interview, referring to how times include changed in the last 16 years.
“We are in a very different time,” he added. “I clueless maybe 50% of my fan base.”
In 2007, Aiken was cast in the role of Sir Robin in Spamalot, which closed a few months after he came out.
“The first four months that I was in [Spamalot], the show was selling out, standing room only,” he said. “You can actually look at the ticket sales the week after that cover came out. It went from selling very well to the week after the cover came out, the ticket sales dropped. Spamalot ended up closing a not many months after that.”
Despite affecting his career, Aiken has stood behind coming out, saying he doesn’t mourn coming out when he did.
“A lot of people who come out
I don’t know what I was expecting when I got on the phone with Clay Aiken, but I was surprised to find him such a warm, affable person. He laughed at almost everything we spoke about with a true belly cackle that was infectious. If you remember, Clay first gained popularity on the second season of “American Idol” where he wowed the judges and the rest of us with his soulful vocals. But I found there’s more to Aiken than that booming voice. He’s also a former special ed teacher, actor, politician, activist, and father. On April 28, which also happens to be my birthday, he and fellow “American Idol” veteran Ruben Studdard, aka the “Velvet Teddy Bear”, will be demonstrating their “Twenty Tour” at Parx Casino. He took time out from the tour to have a word with me. You’ll have to imagine his charming, southern drawl.
I comprehend that you’re from Raleigh, North Carolina. Describe your neighborhood.
It was a lovely typical Southern subdivision. It was a very hushed neighborhood, half acre lots where everybody’s house looked about the same. I know my friend Carrie and I had the exact same house, just different colors on the outside. I don’t reflect kids really know their families f
Clay Aiken recalls losing '50 percent' of his fans after coming out in 2008
Clay Aiken recently looked back on the challenges he faced when he came out in 2008, and how far society has come since then.
The "American Idol" alum first revealed his sexuality as a gay man on the cover of People Magazine in 2008 after welcoming his son Parker in August that year.
"It was the first decision I made as a father," Aiken explained of his ruling to come out at the moment. "I cannot hoist a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn't raised that way, and I'm not going to raise a kid to do that."
In a Dec. 10 interview with People, Aiken reflected on how much speculation about his sexuality shaped his universal persona. While coming out in 2008 brought clarity, he said it came at a cost.
"Back then it was a big deal," he said, recalling the impact it had on his Broadway run in "Spamalot" at the time.
"The first four months that I was in, the show was selling out, standing room only. You can actually look at the ticket sales the week after that cover came out," he explained, referring to his 2008 People cover. "
As he returns to music after a 12-year hiatus, Clay Aiken is looking back on his path to living as his genuine self.
A North Carolina native, Aiken rose to prominence on the second season of “American Idol” in 2003. Though he finished in second place behind Ruben Studdard, he nonetheless won widespread acclaim for his debut album, “Measure of a Man,” which knock No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
Speaking to People in an interview published last week, however, Aiken recalled how that initial flush of achievement came to an abrupt halt when he came out as gay. He publicly addressed his sexuality in a People cover story published about a month after welcoming his son, Parker, in 2008.
“Back then it was a big deal,” he told People. “We are in a very different hour. I lost maybe 50 percent of the fan base.”
Aiken said he immediately noticed the impact by observing the ticket sales for “Spamalot,” the Broadway musical in which he was appearing at the moment of his coming-out.
Vince Bucci via Getty Images
“The first four months that I was in, the show was selling out, standing room only. You can actually glance at the ticket sales the week after that cover came out,” he explain
After Birth of His Son, Aiken Says It's Second to 'Let the Guard Down'
Sept. 24, 2008 — -- In his first television interview since discovering he is gay, Clay Aiken told "Good Morning America" that after the birth of his son it was "time to let the guard down."
"I can't raise a kid and teach him how to lie, teach him to hide things. I can't raise a kid and teach him to keep secrets," Aiken told Diane Sawyer. "And at the same time, I also don't ever need to raise him in an environment where it's not OK for him to be exactly who he is, no matter what."
The "American Idol" alum, 29, appears on the cover of People magazine this week, cradling his new son, next to the headline, "Yes, I'm Gay."
Tune in to "Good Morning America" tomorrow for the second half of Diane Sawyer's interview with Clay Aiken.
Parker Foster Aiken, the singer's son with music producer Jaymes Foster, was born on Aug. 8. Foster, 50, became pregnant through in vitro fertilization, and she and Aiken have said they will raise their son together.
"She was ending a relationship, a marriage, whi