Clay Aiken Reveals He’s Gay

By: Shannon Gossage

Aiken appears on this weeks cover of People magazine under the title "Yes, I’m Gay." Aiken, 29, has dodged the sexuality question since becoming a star after appearing on the hit show American Idol. In an interview a few years ago Aiken was asked if he was gay and he said, "I don’t really feel like I have anybody to answer to but myself and God and the people I love." He recently became a first time father to son Parker Foster Aiken and said that he made the decision to come clean about his sexuality. He said, "It was the first decision I made as a father. 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 and producer and friend Jaymes Foster conceived the baby through in-vitro fertilization. He was born in August and Aiken and Foster plan to raise the baby together. Aiken lives with Foster when he is in Los Angeles. They met on the American Idol set and have remained friends. Foster was the executive producer on Aiken’s album A Thousand Different Ways and also contributed to his latest album On My Way Here.

Aiken was the runner up on season four of this hit show. Since Idol his career has flourished. He has recorded four albums, written a book, executive produced a Christmas special, and made his Broadway debut in "Monty Python’s Spamalot" this past spring. It has not been revealed if Aiken is romantically involved with anyone at the moment.