Clay Aiken and Fans Begin Long, Bombastic Journey Toward Mutual Acceptance
Do you recall the Great Keening of September 24, as if a million Claymates cried out at once, and then were silenced? That was the dark day that American Idol alum Clay Aiken broke the devastating news that he was, in fact, a “gay,” sending his dumbstruck fans into a tailspin (as NClayolina memorably put it, “I will never be able to listen to him sing, ‘O Holy Night,’ knowing he desires unholy nights”). Now, as the tears on so many Garfield pillowcases begin to dry, Aiken has finally blogged to his fans about the revelation, and instead of self-flagellating, he has one polite message for the Claymates: “Deal with it.”
You’d think with all of the important events going on in the world, there would be plenty to fill up the pages of America’s newspapers, websites and blogs without the need for information on the private lives of the country’s singers and entertainers. But, alas, thats never the case. In fact for the last five years, I’ve found what seems to have been an inordinate amount of interest (not from the public, but from the media) in my own personal life. The questions never seemed to stop.
…So, in the hopes of being able to sing and act (and dance poorly) and do what I love to do for a living while raising my son in a hopefully more private and accepting environment, I chose to go ahead and confront things head on. Yes, I would have preferred to separate my personal life from my professional life. I would have been just as happy to go on without discussing my orientation. But, it seems like that was not an option. Make no mistake, its not because I am ashamed. No, not for a minute. I haven’t always been as comfortable as I am now, but I am without a doubt, proud of who I am and make no apologies for it.
…There are plenty of you who have anticipated this blog in hopes that I would “set the record straight” or “admit to lying for five years and apologise for it”. For that small group of people, I am afraid I will have to disappoint you. My decisions over the past five years have been made with lots of deliberation and at times even heartache. Always with concern for folks who might feel mislead. Don’t doubt that. But they have also been made as an attempt, not to hide my true self, but instead to allow myself 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. In as much as that, at times, was interpreted as misrepresentation, I feel badly. But I reserved that right for myself and I can’t say I regret it.
We have to admit that before the recent revelations, we’d thought of Clay Aiken mostly as a closeted song torturer. Now, though, he has conducted his coming-out press tour with grace and good humor, and we’re forced to reevaluate our take on Aiken: he is polite, pragmatic, just a little bit sassy, and a terrible, terrible singer of bad music. Movin’ on up, Clay!
[Photo Credit: AP]
- Clay Blogged – 10-3-08 [Idol Forums]
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Clay fans do NOT have GARFIELD pillows.
And Clay is NOT a “terrible terrible singer of bad music”.
You are an idiot.
At least 98% of Clay’s fans are supportive of his decision. I think it was wonderful for him to get that load off his shoulders. Most of the media pulled what just a very few fans have said negatively about his coming out. Can we post the comments favoring his coming out or do we just pull from the disappointed fans? The stage door at Spamalot on Broadway is proof that Clay is very happy and relieved to have so much support still after this news. I fully support him. According to what he said in his blog, he is still the same person and is not “defined” by his sexuality.
Clay has always been graceful and polite. That’s just the kind of guy he is. He’s sensible, smart, and mature. I’m very glad he’s happy.
By the way, he also happens to be an excellent vocalist, whether or not you enjoy his genre of music.
I have noticed that all the stories that have been popping up in the last two weeks regarding Clay’s coming out have chosen to post a negative comment by a fan (largely the same comment). The large majority of fans are fully accepting and supporting Clay, so I don’t appreciate the spin on it to make it look like we’re all in turmoil over this. Quite the contrary. The majority are happy for him, because he can finally live in peace.
He’s done!!! People don’t really like celebrities who lie, cheat, steal and deceive whether they are good singers of bad music or bad singers of good music.
And the percentage given as the fans that remain is really more conducive of fhe fans that have left.
he is just the creepiest thing out there. How anyone can conjure up the idea that he has any exceptional talent, (given the amazing talent out there trying to get a break),amazes me. This little twerp is nothing. He is over. He is sickening, obnoxious, and self serving. End of story.
‘At least 98% of Clay’s fans are supportive of his decision.’
bwaa… that leaves about 10 fans. You guys are nuts. You totally steamrolled anyone who said he was gay before..now that he came out everything is so accepting. What a bunch of hypocritical old hags
I am a fan who never commented on any article about Clay until now. There are many fans who always thought it was gay and didn’t’ care. Just because there was a group of fans who were loud about the opinions doesn’t mean they represent the whole fanbase.
Clay is still very popular and most of his fans are still his fans. In fact many new people have joined his fan club since he came out.
Anyone who thinks his voice is not good hasn’t listened to him.
You said “Now, though, he has conducted his coming-out press tour with grace and good humor, and we’re forced to reevaluate our take on Aiken: he is polite, pragmatic, just a little bit sassy. Movin’ on up, Clay!”
You’re totally right there. This is the real Clay, the Clay we’ve known all along. So many people didn’t bother to get to know him and they just made judgments and jokes about him.
Now listen to his music and you’ll get that right too.
You’d be surprised at how many of his fans like me have gay members in our families, have many gay friends and some of us are gay too.
Many thanks for your article.
Greetings:
I have to admit that I have always signed off my posts to Clay: Your absolute fan.
I, like many fans, have always put Clay upon a pedestal. From the very beginning I delighted in doing it, but I was just setting myself up for disappointment. I was of the opinion that he was this sweet Southern Gentleman, the boy next door type, but, with somewhat of a mystery about him – with an amazing melodic singing voice, a snarky and somewhat kooky personality, great comedic timing, and just the warmest and loving guy ever. Today I found out what the mystery was about Clay – for he “came out of the closet” – Clay is GAY! I was caught entirely off guard, I hadn’t a clue, I was heart broken. “Now what, how am I to think about this?” – I said to myself.
After a bit of tossing it back and forth in my mind, I find myself in an awkward position: “Do I love Clay or not?” Is he still the nearly perfect guy that I proclaimed to love. I finally asked myself, what is different about Clay since I know he is gay – nothing. Clay has a right to be himself in all things. And we fans must accept all of Clay, not just how WE would have him be.
Through all this, my only conclusion is a slight adjustment in my thinking — while Clay is singing those delicious love songs with all his special “Clay traces” – I have to remember that I must enjoy them differently as Clay performs the songs and recognize that the love he sings about is to and for his fans, which is real, and not to some imaginary lover. I sincerely hope the other fans can find it in their hearts to accept Clay as he is and not stand in judgment of him. For he is still our precious Clay, a “Prince” of song to his fans, and loving savior to all the children he reaches out to serve. Fellow fans, if you can, please let Clay know that all is well in Claydom still. Peace ! I remain still ….
Clay’s absolute fan, Sharie
I believe a lot of fans, like myself, thought it was entirely possible Clay was gay but allowed him to self identify. Sure, some fans are upset, some have left. But the Clay Aiken fandom is very diversified and for every fundamentalist who now thinks Clay is living in sin there are many more of us who could care less about his private life. He’s the same person he always was and I have to say the pictures I have seen of him recently, he looks very happy. I can’t wait to see Spamalot (again) in January and can’t wait for the next tour. He’s not going anywhere, he might not be the next huge popstar, but heck we already have Justin. Right? No, he’ll be around for a very long time because he DOES have a huge fanbase that does support him. Just because you have an agenda and can find one rotten apple in the barrel, don’t assume we all are. Most of us are grinning from ear to ear and rubbing our hands together in anticipation to see what the guy does next.