#33: Let's all chant "I think it can! I think it can! I think it can!"

[KAndre]

Hmmm, not picking on your daughter BW, but like justclay said, the last CD MJ put out was Invincible in 2001, which frankly sucked and still sold 8 million. People really started noting the "weird" by Dangerous ("wacko jacko", still sold 27 million). His reputation was in the toilet by HIStory, which still sold 15 million. What didn't she buy? And did it make a difference to his sales?

Let's not even mention R Kelly.

Weird? Eh. I can live with that. I have noticed that most people have huge swaths of "weirdness" that they do or are - it just doesn't get announced on Fox.

[FromClaygary]

If I have misjudged you, please accept my apologies.

Gosh! Sure hope you don't expect me to apologize for what I've been thinking!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to tug down my too-short skirt, tug up my too-low top, and totter off in my too-high stilettos and try to cougar a bag boy at the local Krogers.

:17f71c4d:

Actually, I hear the Winn-Dixie has MUCh better bag boys! Or did at one time, anyhow....

I see the question was raised....why Jaymes?

Someone pointed out Clay's dedication to her on the ATDW liner notes without quoting it, as far as I can see. Honeybee at CV put it up earlier today:

And while I'm talking dedications....remember this?

Jaymes Foster: How we ended up on the same page in each other's lives at the same time I may never understand. What I do know is that I am thankful daily that God saw fit to introduce me to someone as talented, wise and genuine as you. That you believed in me enough to take on this project with me and stick with it through so much has been one of the biggest blessings I've been given...but not as big as the blessing of having you as a trusted and indispensable friend.

This was from the liner notes to ATDW...don't even know why I posted this, but it makes me feel kinda schmoopy. Not sure what kind of love it is, but it looks to me like Clay loves Jaymes very much

It appears that Clay felt Jaymes stood by him and cared about him as not just a colleague but at the very least a dear friend during one of the roughest periods of his life. I think I can easily see "Why Jaymes?"

Lovely!....and absolutely!!

From what I hear of the entertainment gossip shows tonight (I didn't watch), sounds like Clay's PR firm has been put into motion. I'm so glad of that! He and Jaymes do NOT deserve what they got yesterday. OR today.

[Claygasm]

I am also not surprised about the 'shipping' (see how good I am getting at using FCA'ism?) of Clay and Jaymes. Clay has dropped lots of hints about his friendship with Jaymes, LOTS. And I have never forgotten that YouTube clip of the two of them whispering, i.e. the body language involved

.

Clearly they are very close, and that vid is an old one. The relationship didn't start just now.

Key word: FRIENDSHIP.

Regardless of whether the relationship is just one of extremely close friends or something more, their age shouldn't come into it. If Jaymes were the male and Clay the female in this relationship, no one would make a big deal of it.

The big deal to me can be explained in one word - Oedipus.

It appears that Clay felt Jaymes stood by him and cared about him as not just a colleague but at the very least a dear friend during one of the roughest periods of his life. I think I can easily see "Why Jaymes?"

:F_05BL17blowkiss: to all.

Standing by you, caring about you, loving you as a friend - that is one thing. Donating your sperm is quite another!

Well I've been sitting here reading, sitting on my hands to keep from typing responses that wouldn't be well received, trying to figure out how I feel about the baby momma/baby daddy situation. It just seems weird. I don't think it's cute or sweet or disgusting or bad or wrong, just.....weird.

My daughter and I were in the car going shopping and I turned on OMWH and she immediately said, "So, Clay's gonna be a daddy, huh?" I told her that that was what was being reported by TMZ, but it hadn't been confirmed by anyone official and that a Canadian news outlet had refuted the rumor. We also talked some about the tabloid nature of TMZ and the fact that they're an unreliable news source, but since she had heard the story on Fox she assumed it to be verifiable. She also thinks it's a weird scenario. And neither of us think it will drive his CD sales in any way. In fact she made the comment that she quit buying Michael Jackson's music when he just got too weird and didn't think this story would do Clay any favors. And as Claygasm mentioned, if it turns out not to be true, you can bet your bottom dollar that not one of these 'news sources' is going to bother to correct themselves.

I've been pondering on this story and I just can't for the life of me make sense of it. It's just.......weird.

Bookwhore, I so agree with you on everything you posted. And weird is the one word I have used over and over and over and over........

It is what it is and IF it is true, I will just have to deal. And it won't be easy for so many reasons. But this whole thing has made me look at the so-called legitimate new outlets in a totally different light - and one that does not make happy. In fact, it scares me.

In the end, it isn't my life and whatever Clay does or doesn't do with his is not my business. But I still think it needs to be addressed one way or the other - briefly - and I still think its is beyond weird on so many levels.

And I still think there is a very good chance it isn't even true. Clay has made it a policy to not comment on things that are not true, after all.

Maybe I will go find a library tomorrow and see if they have muski's book. I need a good distraction.

ETA:

From what I hear of the entertainment gossip shows tonight (I didn't watch), sounds like Clay's PR firm has been put into motion. I'm so glad of that! He and Jaymes do NOT deserve what they got yesterday. OR today.

Can you explain? I haven't heard anything other than they talked a lot about his hair!

[justclay12]

Thanks for bringing the numbers here KAndre. I like to be backed up by proof but am usually much too lazy to go looking for it.

Now I have to go to bed so I can give out meds in the morning to the right individuals. Not good to mix-up the meds. Hope we either have more info, or something bigger will come along to light up the boards even more. Night all.

[FromClaygary]

From what I hear of the entertainment gossip shows tonight (I didn't watch), sounds like Clay's PR firm has been put into motion. I'm so glad of that! He and Jaymes do NOT deserve what they got yesterday. OR today.

Can you explain? I haven't heard anything other than they talked a lot about his hair!

From what I understand, a planned (and heavily promoted) piece on that show about Jaymes became....a piece on his hair changes over the years. Doesn't sound like a subject that needed to be featured today to me, but hey...his hair is gorgeous!

Other entertainment "news" shows have had nothing. Not one word.

It just says to me that his PR firm has been busy controlling; that's GOOD news to me. That's what they're there for.

But I've certainly been dead wrong before! And could be this time.

[muskifest]

So tonight I was at our tournament softball's kickoff potluck dinner at the house of our head coach and friend. The man is the one who at a recent game said he'd come to be a Clay Aiken fan because of what my hubby had been telling him---humanitarian, former special ed teacher, etc. His wife is a buddy and she gently but lovingly 'teases' me about my 'boyfriend'.

Anyway...as soon as I walked in, she said, "So..somebody we know going to be a father?" But she wasn't being bitchy. We talked about it and right away she acknowledged 'the source'...TMZ. I told her what I knew and how the fans' heads have been exploding for different reasons, but that I'd pretty much decided to wait to hear it from a REAL source.

She told me her older daughter (23, I think) called her and said she'd heard about Clay getting some older woman pregnant and what did I think about all this? heh. My friend said, "Good Lord, I don't know. It's not like Muski and I talk about Clay every day!" She said her daughter was mainly just shocked and confused; neither one of them expressed any negative reactions except for the tabloid thing. My friend said she was surprised that they would've announced news like that in the way they did, so I had to correct her and let her know that this was 'leaked' info from 'multiple' sources (gag me) and that it would be interesting to see what/if anything the actual people being talked about might say....

Then my other buddy showed up---she's the one who's as much of a fan of Clay as I am!---and she said, "What's going on?" She really hadn't heard any details, just that Clay was 'in the news' again. So I told her and her reaction was "Really? Do you think it's true?" She had no negative reaction to the possibility that Clay might be fathering a child with an older woman; she was pissed at TMZ and the media for picking it up as though it was actual fact without having confirmation from anybody who really matters.

So...so far, this 'news' has NOT created any shitty conversations among my acquaintances. And my kids haven't said a word, so I don't think they've even heard about it...

I have to say that, although I'm keeping an eye on my buddy Claygasm's blood pressure ( :F_05BL17blowkiss: ), I do see her point re: how differently and more readily the general fandom is 'accepting' this particular tabloid-generated 'news' vs the similar sourced crap from JP a couple of years ago....I'm not judging, just observing...

Anyhoo...I just was grinning, thinking about Clay and Hannah and Spamalot's victories for the fan awards! That's so very kewl....I DO hope he attends the private awards reception. And that the fucking paparazzi leave him alone...

[Claygasm]

From what I hear of the entertainment gossip shows tonight (I didn't watch), sounds like Clay's PR firm has been put into motion. I'm so glad of that! He and Jaymes do NOT deserve what they got yesterday. OR today.

Can you explain? I haven't heard anything other than they talked a lot about his hair!

From what I understand, a planned (and heavily promoted) piece on that show about Jaymes became....a piece on his hair changes over the years. Doesn't sound like a subject that needed to be featured today to me, but hey...his hair is gorgeous!

Other entertainment "news" shows have had nothing. Not one word.

It just says to me that his PR firm has been busy controlling; that's GOOD news to me. That's what they're there for.

But I've certainly been dead wrong before! And could be this time.

Thanks. But I would hope if Clay's PR people were going to change the focus of the story they would have maybe changed it to something like, oh let's see, perhaps his new album, rather than focusing on his hair!

Maybe there just wasn't enough about Jaymes to report on. Other than this rumor and being DF's sister does she have any real claims to fame?

I'm going to bed. My head aches from all this. I really wish someone like Clay and/or Jaymes would clear this up for real so I could get on with my life!

And get my blood pressure down! Thanks for worrying about me muski!! :F_05BL17blowkiss: The aneurysm is under control - for now, anyway!

[Ansamcw]

I have to say that, although I'm keeping an eye on my buddy Claygasm's blood pressure ( F_05BL17blowkiss.gif ), I do see her point re: how differently and more readily the general fandom is 'accepting' this particular tabloid-generated 'news' vs the similar sourced crap from JP a couple of years ago....I'm not judging, just observing...

Well naturally the reaction will be different. Those two stories are not even comparable. Two years ago that was such a sleazy story it never got reported in the regular entertainment news. That story also characterized Clay in a way that is totally unbelievable. This story involves a woman that we all know is a very special person in Clay;s life and involves an act of love and very positive. This is believable...and in line with the Clay we got to know...the crap 2 years ago was just the raving fantasies of a lunatic stalker looking for attention.

[Claygasm]

I have to say that, although I'm keeping an eye on my buddy Claygasm's blood pressure ( F_05BL17blowkiss.gif ), I do see her point re: how differently and more readily the general fandom is 'accepting' this particular tabloid-generated 'news' vs the similar sourced crap from JP a couple of years ago....I'm not judging, just observing...

Well naturally the reaction will be different. Those two stories are not even comparable. Two years ago that was such a sleazy story it never got reported in the regular entertainment news. That story also characterized Clay in a way that is totally unbelievable. This story involves a woman that we all know is a very special person in Clay;s life and involves an act of love and very positive. This is believable...and in line with the Clay we got to know...the crap 2 years ago was just the raving fantasies of a lunatic stalker looking for attention.

I don't find it believable at all. I think that is one reason I am having such a hard time with it. Well, one of many reasons....

It just does not jive with MY perception of Clay based on things HE has said in the past regarding children, marriage, family. etc.

Frankly, the sleaze could be just as valid as this - and I didn't believe that either. That didn't jive with my perception of Clay either! So to me, they are very much the same thing. If we considered the source as one reason not to believe the crap, then we should be considering the source as one reason not to believe this either. The source is no more reliable then than it is now.

Now I really am going to bed!

[playbiller]

I would say after a few seconds of gossip half the piece was about the new CD and the second half about the hair - so it was split. Don't know what new stuff they were going to say about Jaymes, it did not appear. It was about 4 minutes or so, a goodly time for these shows. Some bad pictures at the begining (Jenna Bush) and then some really great ones, like stage door.

[Couch Tomato]

Well this doesn't paint clay as some unwanted thing that has to troll the internet to get anyone to look at him and then he's so ugly and pathetic he is rejected anyway. Don't see how these stories are in any way similar. I understand you are saying they are just both unbelievable to you but "I" am totally skeeved out by the comparison and I can understand why the fandom for the most part can at the very least not go off the deep end over it, true or false. But you have totally made your point about how much this disgusts you.

[claytonic]

It is interesting that such high emotions have arisen out of discussions based on a two facts that haven't even been officially confirmed by the parties concerned:

- That Jaymes Foster is pregnant, by artificial insemination

- That Clay Aiken is the father, by sperm donation

I have reached a point in my life where my views are based on this question: How does this hurt someone else? If it does not directly hurt another person, then it is no one's business. I have become more and more liberal because I have become more and more open to inclusion. There are so many things that I used to need to have fit into neat boxes with labels on them, but now, what I can't understand, I don't reject... at least not unless it is harmful to humanity.

Clay has never done a single thing to hurt me. On the contrary, he has given me so much joy. I will support Clay in every way possible, what he chooses to sing, who he chooses to love and even the color the chooses for his hair, even if my personal choice doesn't match his.

Clay will never be able to please everyone, so he might as well please himself.

[atinal]

I have to say that, although I'm keeping an eye on my buddy Claygasm's blood pressure ( F_05BL17blowkiss.gif ), I do see her point re: how differently and more readily the general fandom is 'accepting' this particular tabloid-generated 'news' vs the similar sourced crap from JP a couple of years ago....I'm not judging, just observing...

Well naturally the reaction will be different. Those two stories are not even comparable. Two years ago that was such a sleazy story it never got reported in the regular entertainment news. That story also characterized Clay in a way that is totally unbelievable. This story involves a woman that we all know is a very special person in Clay;s life and involves an act of love and very positive. This is believable...and in line with the Clay we got to know...the crap 2 years ago was just the raving fantasies of a lunatic stalker looking for attention.

These are the thoughts I had too Ansa, as I was reading Muski's question. These are totally different situations, even if this is completely untrue there are facets of it that I could see being true. The fact that Clay has made no secret in the past couple of years that he really wants to be a dad. The fact that while Clay has always seemed to want a traditional family, he also has always seemed to march to the beat of a different drum (or odd duck as KAndre would say). For me the other was just so at odds with what I felt I'd come to know about Clay.

[wandacleo]

I think that what consenting adults do with sperm is pretty much their business.

Can Clay still sing????

YES?????

Well, then.......

[muskifest]

It is interesting that such high emotions have arisen out of discussions based on a two facts that haven't even been officially confirmed by the parties concerned:

I agree...and that's actually a point of similarity between this purported news flash and the one about Clay being involved in a different kind of shocking situation a couple of years ago. I understand, Couchie, what you're saying about the completely different aspect of these two stories. At the same time, I do see similarities in the fandom's reactions to them.

Both stories were born from nefarious sources.

Both were presented with 'evidence'---'sources', 'instant message transcripts', quotes from reps of one party's brother's public relation's firm, etc.

Both have Clay doing something totally unexpected.

Both test his fans' understanding of him, how he's presented himself, etc.--in different contexts, to be sure, but in both cases some fans have found themselves questioning their previous 'knowledge' of Clay and feeling 'betrayed' or 'lied to'...

Etc.

So...I guess I DO see a reason to question why people seem so much more willing to accept a tabloid, scum skimming source as actually having a REAL story this time and not before...Now I never believed the whole JP bullshit. Had it turned out to be true? Holy shit. I would've felt, I think, something like how a few people seem to be feeling at now at the idea that THIS story could be true. And I'm reading some of their posts at OFC and wanting to absolutely scream because I can't identify with them in THIS instance at all! Yet just the fact that I can see the similarity in how SOME people are treating these two completely different 'stories' makes me search for the common factor.

And I keep coming back to---It's the fucking tabloid journalism and its insipid hold on the public's consciousness.

As a masochistic exercise, I just went to ET online, The Insider online and Access Hollywood ONline. None of these sites have Clay on their front page anymore. Those pages are already filled with the 'next' celebrity NEWSFLASH! yeah, you can still find a story if you type in his name, but in less than 36 hours, it's not the headline anymore.

To these 'journalists' it's already old news, regardless whether or not it has any validity.

PS. Alhough, I'm in wait-and-see mode, I have absolutely NO problem with the age difference if indeed there IS a romantic relationship between Clay and Jaymes. Personally, I think it's hawt. But then, we know just how depraved I am, don't we?

[JennaZ]

The story made it everywhere yesterday, and so it's not surprising that so many would have heard about it. However, I think the reason there's not much in the press today is that...well... there's really no new news. I suspect that the piece that was planned on Jaymes was changed--not because of Clay's PR firm--but because when the show really looked at it, they really didn't have enough interesting material on her. It's possible they couldn't find any video of her (Pop Stars was a long time ago) or they couldn't find anyone willing to talk about her on camera. All they really know is that she's a record producer, David Foster's sister, and former judge on a long-canceled reality show. She's not really a big enough name on her own.

And quite frankly, unless Clay addresses the situation, by next week, the media will be on to another celebrity story and the baby story will be out of the public eye. Which may be what Jaymes and/or Clay's people are counting on. It's a huge deal to the Clay world, but to others, it's but a passing diversion.

But, as I said before, I have a feeling we'll eventually get a more direct answer. If it only involved Clay, I could imagine a continued refusal to comment. But because this involves Jaymes and her unborn child, I tend to think we'll hear something. In the past, he's always been quite deliberate in squelching rumors about people he cares about (i.e., his mother). If we never hear anything, to me, it would mean that he and James don't mind the public believing that the baby is his.

Like others, I think this is a very different situation than the other tabloid one.

[Scarlett]

Both test his fans' understanding of him, how he's presented himself, etc.--in different contexts, to be sure, but in both cases some fans have found themselves questioning their previous 'knowledge' of Clay and feeling 'betrayed' or 'lied to'...

Fans questioning their imaginary "knowledge" of him and feeling "betrayed" or "lied to"? Uh, there's a place where they fix that. Yeah, and those are fluffy clouds not padding. LOL!

But you have totally made your point about how much this disgusts you.

The topic is of the moment is about things that disgust us? *Oooh, pick me, pick me!*

Things I find classy:

- great friends caring for each other, helping each other, standing by each other

- people wanting others to be happy

- people waiting to verify news

- Clay never using the word "weird" in relation to his fans no matter how much we drool over his body parts or smut like there's no tomorrow or post embarrassingly lovey-dovey comments on his blog without regard for our "status/standing" in comparison to him

Things I find skivvy:

*nevermind*

[Couch Tomato]

Well I think part of it may be how OTHER people will perceive Clay. See I've never cared about that.

The first response I got back from a friend to this was "why doesn't the boy come out already." And you know what I said back to her? NOT A THING. Because even though people and bloggers and the internet underbelly can assume anything they want by this story whether it's about Jaymes' age or that that AI was involved - that is all in the person's interpretation. Those "fact" on their own aren't ugly. The part that bothered me about 2006 was not Clay being identified as gay. I don't care about that and never have as there is nothing wrong with being gay. But that wasn't the point of those stories, were they. Those stories were created to humliate and destroy. A total big difference to me. Even though this came from TMZ originally I don't think it's anywhere near as vile. I don't even think \that if false..they sat down and made it up totally out of thin air but just just made some stupid assumptions or had bad sources..maybe they got a text. Not excusing them at all if false. I can barely watch CNN anyore since they became their go to people for celebrity news -- just my impression of them verses the scumbag that lives his life to undermine Clay TO THIS DAY.

Clay will always disappoint some in the fandom because most of us have clearly defined pictures of OUR Clay. Unforunately there are 100 different kinds of Clays in this fandom. So really it doesn't matter what the story is about - it's there all the time about everything Clay does and says. I've seen people SO disappointed it has sent them to the other side whether it's because they didn't like his choice of Director for his foundation, won't speak out against the tabloids, or keeps paying attention to the famewhores they don't like. This is totally nothing new for this fandom. I can't think of a thing Clay has ever done that hasn't caused some disappointment, angst, anger in some.

I hope what I'm trying to convey makes sense.

[Couch Tomato]

But, as I said before, I have a feeling we'll eventually get a more direct answer. If it only involved Clay, I could imagine a continued refusal to comment. But because this involves Jaymes and her unborn child, I tend to think we'll hear something. In the past, he's always been quite deliberate in squelching rumors about people he cares about (i.e., his mother). If we never hear anything, to me, it would mean that he and James don't mind the public believing that the baby is his.

good post Jenna.. I agree with this part.

And good point about them not having anything new.

[wandacleo]

Both test his fans' understanding of him, how he's presented himself, etc.--in different contexts, to be sure, but in both cases some fans have found themselves questioning their previous 'knowledge' of Clay and feeling 'betrayed' or 'lied to'...

Fans questioning their imaginary "knowledge" of him and feeling "betrayed" or "lied to"? Uh, there's a place where they fix that. Yeah, and those are fluffy clouds not padding. LOL!

But you have totally made your point about how much this disgusts you.

The topic is of the moment is about things that disgust us? *Oooh, pick me, pick me!*

Things I find classy:

- great friends caring for each other, helping each other, standing by each other

- people wanting others to be happy

- people waiting to verify news

- Clay never using the word "weird" in relation to his fans no matter how much we drool over his body parts or smut like there's no tomorrow or post embarrassingly lovey-dovey comments on his blog without regard for our "status/standing" in comparison to him

Things I find skivvy:

*nevermind*

:big hug:

[muskifest]

Jenna...I hope there WILL be "something to talk about"---IF it's some clarification of the rumor that will satisfy the parties involved---and I ain't talking about the fans! And this point you made:

And quite frankly, unless Clay addresses the situation, by next week, the media will be on to another celebrity story and the baby story will be out of the public eye. Which may be what Jaymes and/or Clay's people are counting on. It's a huge deal to the Clay world, but to others, it's but a passing diversion

was basically the same one I was trying to make. That without further 'proof' there is no story, so it's on to the next juicy 'exclusive'. (I see that Charlie Sheen is now married. whoop.)

Scarlett:

Fans questioning their imaginary "knowledge" of him and feeling "betrayed" or "lied to"? Uh, there's a place where they fix that. Yeah, and those are fluffy clouds not padding. LOL!

BWAH! I gotta say that in my very short visit to the OFC, I was having a hard time reading some of the "how COULD he!" and "I guess he's not who I thought he was" posts...There were so many things I wanted to say, but none of them were particularly "PC", so I just logged out, you know? gawd.

Just went to AOL sessions to see that now Clay is ahead of the whole danged pack! Most viewed and highest ranked! BWAH! again...ah...publicity. It will be interesting to see if this stuff has any bearing on CD sales. Internet site hits are one thing---curiousity, etc.---but the actual going to a store to purchase a cd is another.

Ok...who wants to speculate on whether or not Clay will show up at the June 2 reception for the Broadway award?

G'night, folks! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[playbiller]

And now for something completely different.

now I am not sure of the end date, but these are world wide estimates.

A Thousand Different Ways between 641700 and 689828

On My Way Here ............ between 131000 and 140825

now we know aht OMWH did not show up overseas at the same week, so we can wait.

[jmh123]

Play, are those total sales or foreign sales only. What's the source?

[playbiller]

http://www.worldwidealbums.net/

Estimated world wide.

[cha cha trusty]

HUMOR!!!

Found on the CB:

FANS GET PREGGERS - E/D!!!

Clayboard Exclusive: It seems mass hysteria has taken hold of ClayNation, as a direct result of the recent br'aiken newsflash reported yesterday involving one, very pregnant Jaymes Foster Levy.

Sources claim that viles and viles of 'friendly' donations graciously offered up by Sir Spermalot (formerly known as Clay Aiken) for A/I on Levy proved successful. Further investigation has revealed all that was actually needed for this process was one, wiggly, energetic DNA specimen in the front line to do the job!!! *High 5's Sir Spermalot's extraordinary virility* ]

Reports are now streaming (heh) in, of a rash of Clayfan E/D [en dreame] pregnancies at record pace. is Spermalot somethin' else, or what? Is there anything he can't accomplish?

For update on the rising tally of offspring on the way, photos of color ultrasounds reflecting lots of bright red haired and freckled fetuses, tune in to Br'Aiken News at Noon!!

~ Phyllis O.M.Gosh-WhooHooo,

reporter at large

GOSH.