Clay Aiken – Good Morning America – Part 2 – VIDEO

Interesting article from the Advocate about Survivor contestant Charlie Herschel who used to IM Clay on a regular basis. He says Clayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s life was completely open to his friends and family.

I don ´t see a link there

1.) Jaymes Foster looks nothing like a 50-year old.

2.) Is it wrong for me to want to squeeze that ADORABLE baby?

3.) Michael Buckley is a nut! :laugh_tb:

4.) I think Clay would make a great nanny.

I added the Advocate link.

Here it is:

http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid62271.asp

I added the Advocate link.

Thank you

I don’t think this person in the Advocate’s timetable was any different than Clay’s on GMA. He has been out to his family for a few years 4? or 5? now. This guy’s relationship started a couple of years ago.

OMG at that final link to “What the Buck”. LOL

I love What the Buck, lol. I think in order for Clay to garner new fans he has to make good music. He didn’t lose fans because they thought he was gay, but because the music was pretty meh. Alot of the fans he lost actually knew he wa gay, and that didn’t matter. At the end of the day, it’s about the music. That nanny thing just may be something to look into,

I don’t think this person in the Advocate’s timetable was any different than Clay’s on GMA.

I’m not arguing that Clay has been out to his family and friends longer than he claimed on GMA. Clay could have quietly confessed to a few family members and friends that he’s gay and then continued to live his life in a very closeted manner. I think the point that Survivor guy makes is that Clay doesn’t hide anything about his life from his friends and family.

He didn’t lose fans because they thought he was gay, but because the music was pretty meh.

Making good music would definitely help make new fans. However, he IS losing some fans–mostly conservative Christians who believed he was a good little southern baptist boy only to find he’s living a life of SIN. Seriously, some of the reactions I found on the net made my hair stand on end.

Oh, I agree with you there MJ. I think once Clay came out to his inner circle he didn’t turn back. I also think he knew he would have to face this sooner or later. I mean, instant messaging a person he barely – at first – knew could have had dire circumstances for him. Over the years I’ve heard of a few other instances where he could have easily been outed had anyone really tried.

Over the years Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve heard of a few other instances where he could have easily been outed had anyone really tried.

Seriously! When he and Kimberley Locke fell out over the Kimberly-Clay-Ruben concert she was proposing, she could have had some serious revenge. It’s a good thing she’s not that vindictive…

I’m shocked by some of his fans reactions but I’m sure they’re in the minority.

It’s sad.

But honestly, these people have no gaydar whatsoever. WHO could be shocked that he’s gay?

Over the years Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve heard of a few other instances where he could have easily been outed had anyone really tried.

I have a friend who has a friend (I know…) who’s son is in Clay’s road band (the son is also gay). According to the son, Clay has been quite open for years with his touring crew and band, and hasn’t really tried to hide anything. His fans chose to ignore the fairly obvious signs. I mean really, could he have been any more obvious?

I’m not at all surprised he is gay, but I’m surprised he decided to come out so suddenly and surely. Personally I thought he would be closeted forever. I think what Clay has done was an incredibly brave thing to do. He was probably fully aware that he would lose some of his fans, but these are the type of fans that have delusional ideas about him anyway. So jettison a few fans in terms of greater personal freedom and happiness=done deal.

The fanbase will wane a bit but in the long run he will be better respected by the public at large, and the cynic in me says PUBLICITY GALORE is the result.

Congrats to Clay and his family. He impressed me with his candor. Everyone’s journey is personal…it’s kinda tough to look in a really see what kind of walk they had to take to get where they are. He handled that with class. Parker’s a cutie for sure.

As to his band knowing…it says an awful lot about him that no one has said a word and you can’t convince me that a confidentiality agreement would prevent that, really, nor that Clay would worry about that in one. Says a lot about what he must be like behind the scenes. Sure, no one’s perfect but it seems he’s well liked.

OT: First post here. Read all the time…finally decided to take the plunge. Lots of good convo around here. Nicely run blog. Kudos.

As to his band knowingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦it says an awful lot about him that no one has said a word and you canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t convince me that a confidentiality agreement would prevent that.

A few years ago there was an incident where his male backup singer quit the tour in the middle of a show. No one really knew what happened or why he quit, but looking back, you gotta wonder. Clay is very close to the two female backup singers and is the godfather of one of their babies. He takes very good care of his “people” and certainly has earned their loyalty.

I wonder if he’ll tour again? It struck me as odd that he didn’t do a tour to support On My Way Here, but with the baby coming and all, I suppose he had good reason. Or maybe he just didn’t want another round of hysterical Claymates swooning over him, knowing that he would be coming out soon. Who knows. I wish him well, though, and figure he’s gonna do just fine.

Missed the edit timeline on my previous post. Can I say that listening to Clay sing to his son really moved me.

Actually, there were hints from one of the backup singers, in a roundabout way, that the backup singer that left had some substance abuse issues (that is because at a later date she said he was in a relationship (now married) and “was doing so much better.). Yep, hearsay, but as much as any other scenario. As the time frame of the quitting was during that Christmas tour that included the young boy, and Clay’s reputation for not tolerating that on tour, much less around a child, I can see why he left/was let go/whatever. Had to have been critical, whatever it was, as it took place DURING a concert, on a break. Just didn’t come back out. He really was a good back up singer, though, and hopefully he’s doing alright, in all aspects.

I only say this as I hesitate to ascribe something to Clay that likely isn’t warranted. He doesn’t seem the type and if that had been it, I seriously doubt it wouldn’t have been blasted ’round the web.:-)

Anyway, I enjoyed the interviews and the singing was very touching. That child is definitely loved. How lucky for him…

As a follow up, I went to Jacob’s MySpace. He seems to be doing well. That’s great! He always had a very nice voice and it’s nice to see he’s doing the things he loves. Very cool!