Clay Aiken admits to being gay

September 24, 3:54 PMNY Music ExaminerSherrill Fulghum

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It's official!  Rumours that have been running rampant ever since an article appeared claiming a man had a brief encounter with pop singer Clay aiken can finally be put to rest.  Aiken who came to fame as the runner up to Ruben Studdard on season two of American Idol is the second contestant from that series to officially come out ofthe closet and announce that they are gay.  The first person was season one contestant Jim Verraros who has the distinction of being the very first person to be eliminated from the show.  Verraros came out right after his elimination and has since launched his own career with a CD and shows.  No contestant has ever come out while still on the show.  Of Aiken's announcement American Idol judge Simon Cowell said good for him.  Cowell stated that he doesn't believe Aiken's fears of losing fans over the announcement will be a problem since this is 2008 and the attitude is who cares.

Aiken stated tht the birth of his son Parker was the deciding factor in him coing out since he could not raise a child to lie and hide things.  Raising a son in this manner meant that Aiken must first clear the air on his own life.  Aiken has previously refused to state whether or not he was gay on the grounds that he wanted to keep his private life just that private.  The birth of his sone on August 8 and the subsequent release that the child was conceived via artificial insimination has changed that belief somewhat.