Clay Aiken Biography

In The News:  Singer Clay Aiken acknowledged he is gay in an interview with People for its Friday (September 26, 2008) edition.

 

Aiken appears on the magazine's cover holding his infant son, Parker Foster Aiken, with the headline: "Yes, I'm Gay."The former American Idol runner-up said he decided to come out after becoming a father in August.

 

"It was the first decision I made as a father," Aiken told People. "I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn't raised that way, and I'm not going to raise a child to do that."

 

Aiken's good friend, Jaymes Foster, gave birth to the boy August 8 after being artificially inseminated with his sperm.

 

Aiken had dodged questions about his sexuality, but many of his fans suspected he was gay for years.

 

He said he came out with his family four years ago, recalling a tearful discussion with his mother after dropping off his brother, who was being sent to Iraq, at a military base.

 

"It was dark. I was sitting there, thinking to myself. I don't know why I started thinking about it ... I just started bawling. She made me pull over the car and it just came out," he said. "She started crying. She was obviously somewhat stunned. But she was very supportive and very comforting."

 

Akin, who considers himself a born-again Christian, said he hoped his fans, dubbed the Claymates, would not desert him.

 

"I've never intended to lie to anybody at all," he said. "But if they leave, I don't want them to leave hating me."

 

Gay groups supported Aiken's public admission.

 

"We congratulate Clay for making this decision and for setting an example for others and his family," said Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. "As we're seeing, more and more gay people, including celebrities, are living openly and honestly, and this has tremendous impact in terms of cre ating awareness, understanding and acceptance."

 

Biography:  Born Clayton Holmes Grissom on November 30, 1978 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The son of Faye Aiken Parker and estranged father Vernon Grissom, Aiken was raised primarily by his mother and her second husband, Ray Parker. A church-going Baptist, Aiken attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he majored in special education.