Clay Aiken Comes Out as the Latest Gay Celebrity Who Was Never In

The concept of the "glass closet" was coined to describe GLBT celebrities who are basically open in their personal lives, but who decline to specifically identify publicly that they are gay or bisexual.

Since almost every element of every celebrity's public image is carefully considered and crafted, living in the glass closet is never a random act: it must always be a specific choice.

But proving that the concept of the glass closet is just as confusing for the celebrities involved as it is for the journalists who cover them, singer Clay Aiken has become the latest out celebrity to say ... he was never really "in" in the first place.

In an interview this week with the Georgia Voice, he said:

“There was this misconception that I was not out. I was in Spamalot and everyone knew [I was gay], but I don’t necessarily want to sit at a table with strangers and tell them. When you come out, you do it with people you are comfortable with.”

Last week, New Kids on the Block singer Jonathan Knight caused a stir by making a similar claim that he'd been out for 20 years, which prompted us to write an article, Dear Newly Out Celebrity: No, You Were Not Always Out, about the difference between being out in one's personal life and being an "openly gay celebrity." Other celebrities, including Johnny Weir and Sean Hayes, have recently made similar claims.

Never say AfterElton.com doesn't know a trend when we see it.

Regardless of the confusion (and the fact that, to us, these comments from these particular celebrities seem to be a tad self-serving), we're thrilled the ranks of indisputably "out" celebrities continues to swell by the month.