Here’s the first part of Clay Aiken’s interview with Diane Sawyer of Good Morning America.
A few highlights: One of the first people he confided in about his sexuality was Kimberley Locke back in 2003. He said the hardest person to tell was his little brother. It’s taken some time, but his family is supportive.
Check out the video After the JUMP…
I’m just hear to see the baby. So cute….!!!!!
Clay seems really comfortable with himself. His story about telling his mom was really funny.
**here**
Ugh!
Thanks for posting the interview, MJ.
Well, he sounds fine, light-hearted and articulate as usual. He’s got a realistic view of why it’s harder for older people or for his Mom who had a vision for his life that won’t be. I’m glad that he’s been getting the message from younger people and especially his brother and friends that they just don’t care about it. Funniest bit is that he says that he’s not making a declaration or trying to tell anyone anything. Yeah, okay. That huge headline on the cover of People looks a lot like a declaration to me.
My only question: Is he making peace with his hair now? He’s back to the spikey look of Idol days.
That was a good interview. But yeah, he’s definitely making a declaration.
I like his perspective and wish him well.
Ok, so streaming media is a no no at work (thank god MJ’s isn’t) but I have to say, I am impressed with him in the little screen shot. Looks like the baby is crying, but he’s still smiling. When my daughter was that age MrTrep would fret when she cried! (she’s 15 months now, no more fretting from MrTrep) From that photo he looks like a relaxed daddy, which is cool.
Well, I for one, am not pleased with his declaration. He’s lied to his fans for the past 5 years. Had he been upfront with this then it would’ve been over with by now. But, he chose to deceive his loyal fans who believed him when he stated he wasn’t gay. He even did an interview with Christianity Today.
So, for me to say I’m ok with this now would be a lie. I don’t like being lied to and deceived.
Eh. To me, it was an impertinent question in the first place. I think people get to lie when people request personal information that has no bearing on matters and which they have no right to know. One can say “no comment”, but people draw their own conclusions. I have a friend who was really tired and I jokingly asked “you aren’t pregnant, are you?” and she said “No”. I found out 2 months later that she was and didn’t want to tell people because she’d had a few miscarriages and didn’t want people to know about it until further along (the first tri-mester is always the riskiest). I wasn’t offended in the least that she lied to me. I was actually completely mortified that I made the joke in the first place and I apologized to her for potentially making her uncomfortable (note to self: think before you joke, you ass).
Since Clay hadn’t even told his family 5 years ago that he was gay, one can hardly expect him to have told the world. Sure, he should have said “No comment”, but with that charged question (and it’s still a charged question in may places), it’s taken by many as an admission that you are. Gay people aren’t fully accepted in many places (there are actually, if you can believe it, states where they outlaw gay people from getting married and people who refuse to go to Disneyland because they’ve extended benifits to gay partners. I’m not making stuff up! And let’s not even get into how some gay people get verbally and physically abused just for being gay) and he may not have been prepared to face that (or have his family face that).
He’s a singer. People pay him to sing. That’s it. They aren’t entitled to know everything about him, in my opinion. If he wants to talk about his boyfriend/husband (like Slezak does), well, that’s fine too. If people aren’t interested in the personal lives of stars, they can just turn off the tv when Kathy Lee Gifford-types are on (I never got the griping about that woman either. If you don’t want to hear about her kids, watch a different show). All, in my opinon.
I think questions about one’s sexuality are over the line. One day we will get to the point in this country that having to “confess” to the public that you are gay will no longer be neccesary. I don’t know how this is anyone’s business but his.
Clay did and still does consider himself to be a Christian, so doing an interview with Christianity Today should not be out of the question. I am sure they have done interviews with many others who they would consider to be sinners. Its just that those folks don’t have to admit to being anything before being featured.
I am sure that Clay has struggled with this for many years. Maybe he didn’t want to be gay. Maybe he thought if he didn’t act on it, he wasn’t. Maybe he even refused to believe it himself. In that case he was only deceiving himself.
I don’t think Clay has an obligation to tell us anymore about himself than he wants, when he wants to. We buy a product from him just like we buy food at the local eatery or a car from the local dealer. Do we make the cook or the car salesman tell us what they have done with their personal lives before we consider their merchandise?
i think it is terrible that he declared a year ago that he wasn’t gay and now, all o fa sudden, he says he’s been gay for a while. if i was a fan, i’d be pissed
KKwatcher, I don’t think he ever declared he “wasn’t”…or was. He stuck to thought that his personal life was private. Am I wrong on this. At least I never heard him declare otherwise.
I feel bad that he felt as though he had to keep it a secret and I am not really sure what bearing is sexuality has on his vocal abilities.
I want to congratulate Clay on his courage in coming out publicly. On the other hand, I don’t think anyone should have to make a public announcement about something as intimate as his/her sexuality. As a society, I think we’ve lost our sense of privacy. It really isn’t anyone’s business unless you’re in a close relationship or are contemplating a close relationship with the person.
To answer hapi’s question — Shortly after AI2, in separate interviews, Rolling Stone and Diane Sawyer asked Clay if he was gay and he said “no.” In a way, it ’s regrettable that Clay didn’t just say “no comment,” but it’s more regrettable that he was even asked the question. I doubt that he was media-savvy enough to know that he didn’t have to answer. Clay hadn’t even talked with his family about it and most probably wasn’t even ready to deal with the issue himself. It should be up to the gay person to decide when they’re ready to come out, or whether they even want to “announce” it.
I recall when Ricky Martin hit it big and was interviewed by Barbara Walters. She asked him if he was gay and he politely refused to answer the question. (BTW, I have no idea whether Ricky Martin is gay, and don’t care.) Not long ago, Barbara Walters recalled that interview and said that she now realizes she shouldn’t have asked anyone that question and wouldn’t do it again.
Young people who are gay often find it difficult to accept this about themselves, much less to share the fact with other people. (One of my closest friends is a gay man whom I’ve known since college.) I hope some day, whether someone’s gay or not won’t even be an issue, anymore than whether they’re left- or right-handed.
As MJ pointed out on another thread, it wasn’t an issue this season on Canadian Idol. Progress. I hope American Idol will catch up.
Just want to add that I’m glad to see Clay looking so good and so happy. I’ve always liked his voice. And baby Parker is adorable.
Good for Clay. I’m glad he’s at peace with himself (he seems to present himself as if he always was but I’m not feeling the truth in that).
I have never read nor heard Clay *ever* lied or deceived anyone. I also think that he had no obligation, at all, to divulge anything about his personal life. Anyone who expected that just might be over invested.
Early in his career he specifically said he wasn’t gay. I call it a rookie mistake. He probably knows now he should have said “No Comment”. He learned and stopped answering the question.
Unfortunately, some of the fanbase took those statements and ran with them. Any mention of his sexuality online was often met with a barrage of comments along the lines of, “Clay said he is straight! So he is! I believe him! Stop calling him gay, you Hater!” I can understand some of those folks feeling pissed right about now.
But, that’s the kind of thing that happens when an investment in an artist goes beyond his music.
Yes, he told Diane Sawyer that he wasn’t gay. He went on record with Rolling Stone and Christianity Today proclaiming he wasn’t. So, this is what I have a problem with. The lies and deceit. If he’s all about honesty, then he should’ve been honest from the git go. Sorry, I don’t appreciate him being candid 5 years after the fact. Especially, for his fans who believed him. But, I don’t care because I didn’t buy his last 2 albums. They just weren’t good, so I think this may hurt him eventually if he doesn’t get back to doing the kind of pop music that propelled him to popularity in the first place.
It wouldn’t have been an issue if he had been upfront from the beginning.
I agree that it has none. I’m very confused…very, very confused as to why his sexual preference is newsworthy. I’m confused as to why anyone’s sexuality is newsworthy.
As a fan, his relationship with me is strictly musical. I don’t know. Today, I’m still flabbergasted.
If he said he wasn’t gay and then retracted it, then yeah, he lied. But…is that to say I haven’t lied? Do I hold him to some higher standard because of his celebrity status?
Yep. Color me confused.
That pretty much sums it up. Wow….
God bless him! There is nothing like you own child to give you great courage and self-acceptance. He has a pretty wonderful baby there. I’m happy for him.
I am proud and relieved about Clay’s decision, recognizing at the same time that I have no right to be! He doesn’t owe us anything other than making the best music he can. In any case, many of us already knew intuitively and don’t care one way or the other. The only person whose sexual orientation makes a difference to me is my partner’s!
I always thought that the best response a celebrity could give to someone who asks if they’re gay is: “Why? Do you want to have sex with me?”
If they say no, then he or she could follow up with: “If you don’t want to have sex with me, then it really doesn’t matter, does it.”
If the answer is yes, then the celeb could say: ” Wow, that’s brave of you to say on national television. I don’t think I am as brave as you are. Maybe we can discuss this in private.”
Yeah, but the reporter would push that his fans want to know because they want to know every thing about him. Why won’t you tell your fans? Etc. I just don’t think it’s easy to get around it. And he probably felt cornered. And there’s a stigma, especially in his religious world. I just don’t see feeling let down about it. He was never trying to hurt anyone, and he was probably trying to protect some people–like his Mom. I don’t think he had selfish motivations at all . . . until maybe now with coming out. In the long run, it’s to make his life easier. And it’s fine.
About two month ago. I read in Newsweek this article about a young 15 year old kid who came out and was kill by his clasmate… it is scary still for people to say “IÂ ´m gay” because they are attacked and descriminated…
I once met a guy, I knew from the begging he was gay (he is a friend of a friend), and he told me that the fact that he was gay didn ´t change him at all, but he didn ´t wanted everybody to define him as first gay and them person, ( I don ´t know if I ´m making myself clear), because he was a person, a good person no matter who he liked or were sleeping with… but some people won ´t stop to find out is he is good or bad if they knew he was gay, they will choose to hate him…So what Clay did is really hard and brave to do…
Kudos to Clay…
Kudos for Clay for opening up. I am just happy that his family can accept him .
I still pretty much confused for Clay fans who feel betrayed he lied that he was not gay at early of his career. Did you love Clay for his music and vocal or his personal life?