American Idol's Clay Aiken is the latest celebrity to come out on the cover of People Magazine (hitting newsstands tomorrow). More details to follow.
(Something must be in the water: Lindsay Lohan also came out this week.)
Submitted by
on Tue, 2008-09-23 16:52.
I was a bit skeptical
Why is this shocking? To
Why is this shocking? To whom is this news to?
I'm only kidding, it's always good to see more people Out.
If By Gay You Mean Totally Freaking Awesome, Then Yeah, I Guess It's Pretty Gay
--Des Ark
HuffingPost has the same
HuffingPost has the same story with a picture of the same cover without Perez' watermark on it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/23/clay-aiken-cradles-newbor_n_128713.html
http://socialitelife.celebuzz.com/archive/2008/09/23/clay_aiken_finally_comes_out.php
Two articles, same story, different scans. The story looks legit.
I'm feeling a bit "meh" about the fact that he pretty much quots Ellen, though.
Clay Aiken
...and Lindsay Lohan both come out right after a very interesting AfterElton article about the question of how out a celebrity has to be. Expect Ricky Martin to come out any day just to feel relevant.
http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0571390/
"Oh, my!" You're right! I
"Oh, my!"
You're right! I didn't connect the dots at first. Ricky, you've got some 'spalining to do! A holy trifecta!
Poor Kathy Griffin!
Interesting point (I think, anyway)
...because it raises questions in my head regarding the motives for outing people and who's needs or what goals are really being met when people push so hard to out someone.
In the specific case of Kathy Griffin, it will be interesting (to me) to hear how 'Gaiken' appears in her act. Now that the 'goal' has been met, will he continue to be another 'put down' joke, or will the jokes be more on the lines of, "Whew! Mission accomplished"?
Now that there is nothing to "dish" about regarding Aiken, I'm finding it interesting to see what people say reagrding how much it matters that he's 'said it out loud'. From what I've read so far, most of the reactions have been along the lines of two options: either "old news" or "[insert negative, hurt or angry reaction here]".
_________________________________________
-Sibelius
"It's curtains for you, Dr. Horrible. Lacy, wafting curtains..."
did you remember to thank Perez?
kiss his assask permission to use it? Interesting, how does that work?Thank you for changing the image
I know there are fans of PH here. Good for them.
I Just hated to see you promote him in that way. If you're going to promote him, promote him. If you're going to suck his ... well, I don't want to think about that.
Yawwwn
Not news.
But its actually nice to know that he is in a place in his life that he can finally do this. Kudos for him.
Now, my thoughts are with all those nutjobs that violently defended his straightness inspite of the obvious. All their dreams are dead.
You'd have to be a nutjob
Who's the freak?
Freakishly effeminate-looking man? I have no idea what to do with that except say do you know how offensive that sounds? Not just to Clay Aiken, who frankly I don't gives a rat's ass about otherwise, but to lots of others - gay and trans. If ONE of us is a freak then we're all freaks, pal.
Hey, the guy isn't my taste
Not just by nature but by
Arrogance in the gay community
Violently? Vociferiously, perhaps, but not violently. And, since Clay had denied being several gay years earlier and expressed he was heterosexual in the past, before he refused to answer the question any more, why would his fans NOT defend him and try to "correct" the record?
It's folks like yourself who go around spouting how "obvious" someone's gayness is that make it HARDER to come out, especially if you haven't come out to yourself. You're like the stereotypical sophomoric jock poking fingers at the shy kid calling him "faggot," those who insist every guy is a few beers from gay or that bisexuals are "in denial." You cannot mind-read, everyone deserves the freedom to self-discover and take things in his own time and, to be blunt, it's none of your damned business.
You don't own people because you think they're gay, stop acting like it!
Bottom dwellers like Mario Lavandeira can notch another one on his belt and it makes me sick.
I believe Clay has also
actually, i'm very certain he didn't
Actually, I remember he told Diane Sawyer that he believes "God loves everybody, Christian, Muslim, Jew, gay or straight." I followed his career for a while and I don't remember hearing him every say anything anti-gay. And I was especially looking for it, because I knew that some of his fans are very homophobic. While he never took a stance to say that he supports gay people, he never said anything against it either.
First
Second. Violently, maybe not he right word. Viciously, yes. I was refering to some of the vitriol some, not all, of Clays fans use to defend him. It could get very nasty. There is absolutely nothing wrong with defending your idol, but to go to those extremes is very strange. But hey, maybe its just me who finds that weird.
Third. There are so many ways one can call someone obvious and I am for all of them. I always encorage people to be themselves, what ever that is, and denounce comments like the freakishly effeminate-looking one above. I dont know your definition of "obvious", but in Clays case it was more about his attitude and the many and strange ways he denied being gay every time it came up than his demeanure, which is what I think you mean. That made it obvious.
Fourth. There is nothing wrong in stating the obvious. Making fun of it, yes; simply stating it, no. I did no such thing, so I dont get where your rant comes off.
Finally, asuming ones sexuality and coming out is a difficult journey, even more so in the public eye. Which is why I feel that its great that he has found enough peace with himself to take this step. Again, kudos to him.
I see the term "freakishly
tacky...
the big "YES I'M GAY" headline is so tacky.
...as for lindsay lohan....well, eh....good for her...but i dont consider her "coming out" - - i mean, she finally confirmed she is dating a woman...but whether that means she is "out"....i don't know.usually, when people are out, doesnt that mean they are gay/bi? or does it have a new meaning??? she didnt say "i'm gay/bisexual..." - she just publically said she is dating samantha. eh, i am confusing myself. anyways, good for her.
good for Clay. But like
good for Clay. But like Lance Bass, I don't get why he expects the red carpet treatment from the gay community considering he's called homosexuality a sin before. I remember his "I'm not gay, I'm a God-fearing Christian", because religion and homosexuality just always have to be mutually exclusive ::rolleyes::
It's another case of a celebrity who shuns the gay community when he's relevant and when he realizes he's washed up, suddenly decides to come out. Sorry Clay, good for you coming out, but not to the extent at how you acted like the gay rumors were so bad because being gay was such a terrible accusation.
Lindsay Lohan doesn't get two thoughts from me. I say if she still likes fish in five years I might take her seriously, but right now I think she's a total Anne Heche case who is using lesbianism for shock value and attention. It's a way for her to one-up Paris and Britney.
Wait, Lance denounced
Lance, Clay, Christians and Gays
As a fan of his as far back as '99, I never read anything like that from Bass. The grandparent poster is being a self-righteous, ignorant ass. Lance, was 15 or so when asked to join *NSYNC. Underage, he traveled with his mom on tou. He also hailed from a "devoutly Christian" family. Asked why he wasn't hitting on girls, he referred to his shy nature and faith. We know, in fact, from his post-out interviews that Lance did try women out.
I'm so SICK of the BITTER BULL that if the first words out of your toddler mouth aren't, "I'm gay," you're smeared by the angry, insecure, faith-hating gays as having been a hypocritical liar all your life. The process of self-discovery is not set rigidly like a mechanical time piece from the day you escape the womb. Get over it.
You'd think gays, of all people, would "get it" but more and more I see bitterness, rancour and hatred directed at members of the same community who took a different path in life.
On Aiken, who cares if he expressed a statement of faith that homosexuality is immoral? That has nothing to do with him being a gay man. There's a difference between your inclinations and actions. An out gay man can hold the belief gay sex, premarital sex, extra-marital sex and so on are immoral actions and not be a hypocrite. He might be celibate and a practicing Catholic, for example. Or his faith might develop differently through reflection and revelation down another path such as believing committed monogamy and a gay marriage is the way to go.
Lance is an out gay man, involved in same-sex relationships, and he, in his big, "I'm Gay," PEOPLE interview, continued to proclaim a Christian faith.
Sadly and frustratingly, too many very vocal, denegrating gays find the idea of faith or religious practice (Christianity in particular) to be threatening. Their own lack of self-assurance causes them to lash out.
They may come from a background they found rigid and confining and rather than carry forward with the best of it, they dismiss it wholesale. And the idea of a gay man 'clinging to such silly myths' rather than convert to the new gods of heidonism, atheism or some new-age ritual drives them into an apoplectic frenzy.
If you claim to value it, think about what diversity means beyond surface differences. How often do you attack examples of it in your own lives? It may be time for self-discovery of your own.
how was I being a
how was I being a self-righteous ignorant ass?. Sounds to me the self-righteous ignorant ass is you. You're putting words in my mouth. How dare you tell me what I do or don't think about religion. I am a Catholic who attends church weekly. My comment where I said religion and homosexuality is mutually exclusive was followed by a rolling eyes. Is your sarcasm detection that dense? The Rolling Eyes was my commentary on the attitude that many neo-Christians have that gays can't be Christians. I don't see where I made any anti-religion remarks and how dare you insist otherwise.
And regarding Lance Bass. He was spotted at a gay club dancing with shirtless men back in his N'Sync days and it made it to magazines. What did he do the next time he was on TV? proclaiming his engagement to a woman. I also remember him shrugging to gay rumors and proclaiming that he's a good ol' Christian boy. Because :::sarcasm on since you're too dense to notice::: if you're Christian, you obviously can't be gay also.
Clay and Lance have both called homosexuality a sin before they came out. I won't forgive them until they apologize for what they said.
I'd like to see your sources
Lindsay Lohan is not Anne Heche...
...and she's not Paris or Britney, either. For one thing, Lindsay actually has talent (she's a terrific comic actress). For another, whereas Anne Heche latched on to Ellen and made her relationship a major part of her "fame," Lindsay has been relatively coy about her relationship with Sam Ronson (who, unlike Ellen, I doubt most people had heard of prior to her romance with Lilo). There's simply no comparison there.
Also, don't forget that female sexuality is more fluid than male sexuality; if Lilo is in a relationship with a man in 5 years, I don't think one can see it as an idictment of Lindsay's fame.
Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/
LezLo
...and she's not Paris or Britney, either. For one thing, Lindsay actually has talent (she's a terrific comic actress). For another, whereas Anne Heche latched on to Ellen and made her relationship a major part of her "fame," Lindsay has been relatively coy about her relationship with Sam Ronson (who, unlike Ellen, I doubt most people had heard of prior to her romance with Lilo). There's simply no comparison there.
Also, don't forget that female sexuality is more fluid than male sexuality; if Lilo is in a relationship with a man in 5 years, I don't think one can see it as an idictment of Lindsay's fame.
Lindsay was good in Mean Girls, I'll give you that. But it seems like she, Paris and Britney have all been in a pissing contest to see who is the trainwreckiest celebrity of them all. Britney shaved her heard, then Paris went to jail, Lindsay's bid IMO is being in a lesbian relationship. We've already had one Anne Heche who we took seriously as a lesbian andwe saw what happened with her. Maybe Lindsay truly in a lesbian, but I won't buy it unless she's still dating women in five years. People like her, Paris and Britney are media whores and love to draw attention to themselves. The drug problem is "so last year", so this year it's her lesbianism IMO. I'll believe it if she doesn't rush back to men the second the media spotlight on her and Samantha dies down, like Anne Heche did.
So much antagonism against these women...
...very strange. Do you REALLY believe that these women are so cynical, so manipulative that they think, oh, I haven't been in the news so I'll shave my head, or go to jail, or date a girl...? I mean, really?
It seems to me that since Lindsay started dating Sam, her life has, in fact, settled down: Sam has apparently provided her with a grounding that her own parents were unable to provide. She's not passing out in cars, she's not getting in trouble with the law, she's filmed episodes of Ugly Betty and her big screen career may be reignited, as she has two films scheduled for 2009. How is this a "bad" thing?
Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/
Maybe she's bi
John said - Maybe Lindsay truly in a lesbian, but I won't buy it unless she's still dating women in five years. People like her, Paris and Britney are media whores and love to draw attention to themselves. The drug problem is "so last year", so this year it's her lesbianism IMO. I'll believe it if she doesn't rush back to men the second the media spotlight on her and Samantha dies down, like Anne Heche did.
As I understand it she didn't claim to be a lesbian - fait accompli. She merely said she's dating or in a relationship with a woman. She could easily be bisexual. It isn't by neccessity either/or. Most especially with women who, as Joseph noted, seem to have a more fluid sexuality. At least that's how my younger lez friends read the story. If down the road Lindsey Lohan dallies with a fella I don't think you'll see the recrimination that was heaped on Ann Heche. It's that generational shift that's been discussed recently. More and more they -even some of the guys - don't feel forced to choose from only Column A or Column B. Scarey/distateful as that may seem to us older folk I see it as a good thing. Less binary thinking might help avowed hets to discover the inner queer - which can only be a good thing for the rest of us.
I agree
More and more they -even some of the guys - don't feel forced to choose from only Column A or Column B. Scarey/distateful as that may seem to us older folk I see it as a good thing. Less binary thinking might help avowed hets to discover the inner queer - which can only be a good thing for the rest of us.
I'm in agreement, but less likely to think of it as scarey or distatsteful. To my mind, it shows the younger generation (or at least a large enough number have) learned something from the previous generation's many, varying examples of how to broach the subject. That people are people, and when it comes to sexuality or loving someone, the labels, 'in/out' status, etc. just don't matter.
_________________________________________
-Sibelius
"It's curtains for you, Dr. Horrible. Lacy, wafting curtains..."
Yup to your agree
Sibelius said - I'm in agreement, but less likely to think of it as scarey or distatsteful. To my mind, it shows the younger generation (or at least a large enough number have) learned something from the previous generation's many, varying examples of how to broach the subject. That people are people, and when it comes to sexuality or loving someone, the labels, 'in/out' status, etc. just don't matter.
Yup, that's actually how I feel too. My phrasing was a clumsy bow of acknowledgement to the bi-phobia that still prevails in certain circles and age groups.
I'm not sure
Also, don't forget that female sexuality is more fluid than male sexuality
I'm not sure if if I'm 'scientifically' correct for thinking so, but my gut feeling is that male sexuality is just as fluid as female sexuality. I think that women just tend to be more honest in both recognizing and expressing their natures, emotions, etc.
_________________________________________
-Sibelius
"It's curtains for you, Dr. Horrible. Lacy, wafting curtains..."
no red carpet
I don't think he's asking for a red carpet at all. He's just telling the truth. Sure, he didn't tell it before, but in order to tell the truth, you have to fully understand the truth. Now is the time when he's able to do that.
He has never said being gay is a sin. I would have known if he did. It's true de did talk about Christianity, and he only clarified that he thought being gay was okay in Christianity when he was specifically asked for it. Perhaps that was a mistake. Perhaps he could have spoken more supportively of gay people. And maybe he will look back and regret that. Or maybe not. Who knows? I know Lance Bass talked about how he was worried that his coming out would reflect negatively on the gay community if people made fun of him. For some reason quite a few people make fun of Clay, so maybe Clay had similar thoughts.
At any rate, I don't think Clay's asking to be treated as anything special for being gay or saying that he's gay.
I feel bad if Clay thought his fans wanted him to stay in the closet. (I don't know if I count as a claymate, but I'm a fan.) Above all he should just be himself. Being yourself is the only way people can love you. If they don't know you, how can they love you? I hope he'll be happier and more at peace now now.
Who cares!
Disgusted
Listen, I'm no fan of Clay or even Lindsay, but some of the comments on this post are beyond the pale in terms of basic decency.
"freakishly effeminate"
"If she still likes fish in 4 years"
"Who cares.. he's fugly anyways".
And we wonder why people think gay people are bitchy and superficial. I'm not one to play the schoolmarm but c'mon people. Aren't we better than this?
www.thebittersuite.blogspot.com
It's not wrong to be
It's not "wrong" per se...
...it just doesn't make biological sense, but it's true that, going back to the silent days (and probably back to the ancien régime), some women have been attracted to effeminate men...I presume because they're not threatening.
Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/
I have to agree with your point...
Speaking as a woman who as a teenager flipped through copies of teeny-bopper magazines, some girls do like effeminate men for the reason stated above.
I think there was even a joke about it in The Simpsons. (Too bad I can't remember the episode.) Lisa was on her bed flipping through a copy of "Non-Threatening Boys." I think that the general assumption among tween girls is that the pretty boys will be more nurturing and less likely to break our hearts.
Well well well
What will the "Claymates" do now?
Clay's army of hysterical female fans swore up and down that he was straight and visciously attacked anyone who even so much as suggested otherwise.
Will there be a mass suicide?
There will probably be a backlash
We just got through complaining about celebrities not coming out
and instead of just saying "GOOD FOR YOU CLAY!",
we have to be all jaded and "over it" because we "already knew".
I say, WHATEVER FOR THAT!
There are lots of gay rumors about celebrities that actually are not true and there are lots of actual gay celebrities that are known to be gay but will never come out so I say
HIP HOORAY for ANOTHER OUT GAY (and on the heels of becoming a father no less)
TAKE THAT AFA!
I may not care so much for his music but I've never found him to be particularly mean to gay folks (unlike a lot of closeted stars) and as my grandmother always says
It Takes All Kinds!
HIP HIP HOORAY FOR SAM AND LINDSEY TOO!
NO COMING OUT IS TOO SMALL OR TOO LATE!
COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!!!
WHO'S GONNA BE NEXT?.
TASTE THE RAINBOW!
p.s. and fellas, um "fish"? really" in 2008" seriously?
Damn if you do and damn if you don't
To Quote Glenda
What else do the Claymates need to know?
Out!
I think the cover tag line is a shot at his mom. I bet his mom begged him not to come out. "I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things.
How many claymates are going to have their hearts broken now?
I don't recall...
...hearing him say there was anything BAD about being gay. He may have denied he was (possibly to himself) but he's only been a celebrity for 5 years. Coming out isn't as easy for some people as it is for others, and while it may be obvious to US he was gay, it wasn't obvious to a sizable chunk of his fans. Or more likely they just didn't WANT to believe it. How do you deal with people like that? So I'm willing to cut him some slack for not leaping out of the closet from the start.
Besides,Spamalot! is a pretty gay-friendly musical. When I learned he was appearing in it, I had two thoughts:
1. This is going to upset some of his more conservative fans.
2. Any day now, this boy's gonna finally come out.
Clay and His Poor Kid
I'd like to see your sources