#41: Clay Aiken Makes His Triumphant Return!

[luckiest1]

From MLK973 at CH:

Just back from Spam again. I enjoyed the show as I did last night. There was a good crowd for a week day. Again, as others have said there was laughter at the right places and some fans down front to show Clay some support. Tonight Rick cracked himself up and had to stop for a moment - don't know why since it was the same Palin story he was using but some how he felt it was really funny tonight. He is always great. Faye was there tonight. I was at the SD for a while but after Jerome walked away I didn't wait. My friend really enjoyed the show and laughed a lot. It was a great night.

From Ms Marmalade at CH:

butterflyshine wrote:I was at the Spam tonight it was wonderful....

Some tidbits...Craig, ticket dude said they have seen a real increase in foot traffic purchasers especially since Clay came out...his experience is that most are supportive.

There was no stage door tonight it was drizzling and Jerome told a fan that there probably wouldn't be any stage door until next week (Tues)...probably good idea since it supposed to rain all weekend, and I mean rain.

The orchestra was mostly full with scattered empty seats...

It was mostly a Monty Python crowd...they laughed at the appropriate places and really enjoyed the performance. Clay got just a smattering of applause when he came out in the guard tower...but there weren't that many fans in the audience.

His solo was really well rec'd and got a ton of applause...he is only performer that got a standing O at individual curtain call...

okay some performance tidbits....

I am really liking the way the King and Clay interact in scene 1. The King is a bit snarky which allows Clay to be bit more snarky...

I am loving the grail scene he has changed it a bit and i think it is funnier...maybe he is not going for the obvious laugh...not sure what it is but i like it...

Had some early mic issues he pushed his helmet back in the first scene and it was all better...

added a few little dance steps during Spam wonderful Spam...verra cute....

drink girl pulled on his belt when serving him his drink...

LOL of sang take me to funky town...I am really learning to love her, she is no Hannah, but i like her...

not sure that he has always done this...but he lift legs when the nun is spun...

during the French Taunter scene...he assisted his leg up and over his pony and gave it a loving pat...

French women is learning new ways to torture Clay during run away...Sunday it was pretending to give her a wet will....tonight it was licking her hand and spanking her....

during the first soiling of his pants scene...Clay added "Oh God...and ****..."

Rick did his Sarah Palin's daughter's baby daddy thing...for some reason the King had giggles and then Rick had giggles...not sure why but it was cute...

D101 is the peasant seat...some guy got it very cute...Clay offered the hand, but the guy didn't see it...

Boris' head almost rolled off the Stage Bradley Dean dove and kept it from falling...

Clay was fabulous...I liked his old guard scene better he seems to be playing it a little less broad...but it got a good reaction, so it is probably just us that miss it...

It was good to see Clay in his element and doing his thing...

This post may travel....

[ldyjocelyn]

Not a lot of time here. I've got a LOT to talk about, but I've got one quick thought here...

I don't know, maybe some people are having a hard time because they had Clay's future all planned out for him in a very traditional way and are so set in their expectations that they can't deal with a detour?

I thought the most relevant part of the interview yesterday was this one quote from Clay: "don't dream too specific." In his case, he was talking about Parker, but my mind immediately went to the fandom, and the expectations that some had placed on him, whether about his private life or his career. Those that have had very specific ideas about his career (especially RCA) have probably had them blown out of the water somewhat just by the fact that he's still WITH RCA. This new news in the past few days changed the perceptions by more than a few about their dreams for his personal life.

That one really hit me like a ton of bricks, because I've always thought that to be rather true of my life, not just Clay's.

Sadly, got to run again. MUAH to all of you....

[JennaZ]

I liked Jaymes' post. I do understand how it can feel like she painted with a very broad brush, but I don't think she was aiming it at anyone who was struggling with the news. To me, her primary issues were: 1) condemnation over the fact that Clay had lied in the past and 2) fans feelings of entitlement.

I think it's hard for her to understand why the Rolling Stone lie is such a big deal to some people, why some accuse him of being deliberately deceptive, not just then, but afterward. Many don't seem to fully realize how frightening it must be for a gay man to come out, especially in the public spotlight. I suspect she can't fathom why some cannot sympathize with his reasons for staying in the closet, and so she jumped, perhaps too quickly, to homophobia. I understand that not everyone who is struggling is homophobic, and I'd bet she understands that too. I think at heart, it just hurt her to hear her best friend being denounced as a liar.

And I think what really got to her, however, was the entitlement. He should have told US. He OWES us. He needs to weep and wail for us, to show us how sorry he is for allowing us to believe he was straight. I think the entitlement burns her more than anything because she knows, first hand, how much he cares about the fans.

And so she lashed out. And I'm glad she did. Perhaps her language was a little strong, but so was some of the language used against her.

I do feel for those who feel hurt by her comments. However, they were not directed to everyone struggling. She qualified her comments, many times, and stated that 98% of the fans were great. Clay is someone she obviously cares very deeply for. I think it was just hard for her to see fans portraying him as a callous, uncaring liar, when she knew otherwise.

[Couch Tomato]

oh good, jenna posted while I was trying to articulate the same thing. My work is done. bwah. Going to work. TGIF

[djs111]

I don't even think the word "lie" is even the correct word to use for the answer to a question that is nobody's business.

So I can't even begin to sympathize with the "he lied" stuff - why does anyone feel they were entitled to that info just because they want to know it?

Do people really honestly think that just because a reporter asks a rudely invasive question, a person is obligated to tell? I sure don't.

And really, if anyone feels their fandom would have been different if Clay had said yes I am, then Jaymes is right in her assessment of those people.

I am so happy that Clay and Jaymes found each other and recognised each other and will be in each other's life for the long run.

[luckiest1]

Heads up, Canadians. My daughter called to tell me she found People in a Toronto subway station already. That's early!

[RIFAN]

I don't post often on this board, but I do read nearly every day.

(Once referred to myself as an "irregular poster" and was offerred prunes, I think--so I won't use that term--yes, I love the humor here, too!)

Anyway, I just feel the need to word every single post that I just read on this page. I feel as if I am listening to "the voice of reason" finally!!

[Desertrose]

I am not going anywhere except to Spamalot.

Play,

I do not think that Jaymes post applies to you. IMO. It is just fine to be honest with the way that each person (fan) is processing the latest development in this unpredictable Clay journey. Clay is very wise to let everyone vent their feelings on the OFC without any editing. IMO, when all this processing is done, fans can either stay in the fandom or go. Either way it is fine with me. I hope that you stay Play because I feel that you are a good fan.

IMO, it is not fair to be critical of fans who may be hurting because they feel deceived. I believe Clay when he says that he did not mean to lie or deceive anyone. It must have been very hard for him to sing in front of screaming females with "Marry me Clay signs," and then come out and say "I am gay." I cannot even begin to imagine how he must have felt at the time. He was in a very difficult position.

I did defend him when people said in a derogatory manner "He is gay," without taking into account his talent and his humanitarian efforts. All of my family members thought he was gay. I argued with them, and even made DVDs of the 20/20 Diane Sawyer interview where he said he was effeminate because he was raised by women. I made them watch it. Now, I have learned to like the taste of crow, and it is not too bad. They can give me a hard time if they want to. I am the one that put myself in this position, and I will just have to wait till they get tired of having their say. I do have one Clay fan friend that she and I discussed the possibility that Clay might be gay because there were a lot of clues. We could discuss it and not judge each other. We both felt that if Clay was gay, it would not make any difference to us. Both of us felt that he should not wait too long to come out. I never shipped him with anyone, and fathering Parker with Jaymes was the biggest clue to me. I am not a big poster, but I never would have posted this because it would upset people. I still love Clay and am not going anywhere, except to Spamalot.

[luckiest1]

I am not going anywhere except to Spamalot.

Hee, I love this. Thread title?

[annabear]

I love this board. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[duckyvee]

I just saw a scan of a brief blurb piece on Clay in the NY Times yesterday, and the absurdity of it made me laugh out loud. I'm still laughing. I know it's not funny, really, but out of context like that, just a brief announcement with bare-bones facts about Clay and a picture struck me as just so..... I don't know.... out of place. Clay Aiken of' Idol 'Announces He is Gay. In the NY Times. Oy.

[heinz]

Luckiest and other Claynadians- I was just at Walmart and People mag is there!!!

[Bella19]

Thanks Claymatron! - I'm back at home and already took my next dose of painkillers. The periodontist was very calming and patient, but what really helped was listening to Clay on my shuffle.

Heads up, Canadians. My daughter called to tell me she found People in a Toronto subway station already. That's early!

I'll keep an eye out for it tomorrow when I do errands. I looked for it at a Great Cdn News Stand, but no luck in the suburbs!

FromClaygary - I understand what you mean about the fans having dreams for Clay that aren't his. The upset that fans feel needs to be acknowledged as mourning that dream, like what you go through with a divorce. It was explained to me that way 18 years ago when I went through mine. You mourn the loss of hopes and plans you had and hopefully move on with your life with new dreams and goals. Hope that makes sense!

ETA - Thanks Heinz! - I'll check there tomorrow!

[muskifest]

I just saw a scan of a brief blurb piece on Clay in the NY Times yesterday, and the absurdity of it made me laugh out loud. I'm still laughing. I know it's not funny, really, but out of context like that, just a brief announcement with bare-bones facts about Clay and a picture struck me as just so..... I don't know.... out of place. Clay Aiken of' Idol 'Announces He is Gay. In the NY Times. Oy.

Ain't that the truth?

This morning while talking with a hotel rep over breakfast, I discovered that his sister once worked with Clay for a few days when Clay was working with BAF to get a YMCA camp going in Kalamazoo!

[preden]

Luckiest and other Claynadians- I was just at Walmart and People mag is there!!!

Just picked up mine at the grocery store here in Laval Quebec

[preden]

I support Jaymes in that whole post and was glad to see her being real. It's about time.

The GMA piece is wonderful! He just glows, and the pictures of him with the baby and Jaymes are definitely schmoop-inducing to the nth. Nothing really new, but I think MOST will just love what he has to say about the decision they made, the reasons they made it, and the arrangements (which we really already know).

Don't miss it!!

ETA: I meant to mention as well, I think even the TIME the pieces were shown on GMA was well planned. Gay man announcement? No big deal.....shown halfway thru the first hour.

Announcement re his parenthood and its parameters? Important! Excellent 2nd-hour placement.

I thought it was really interesting.

Yesterday I had a 4-hr drive from audit Point A to audit Point B; I was going to put my Zen on, but instead decided for a bit to just drive and think. Now, I'm not one of the people that has had a problem with this whole thing, but I did do 4 hrs of thinking.

I know that the people I know have had some difficulty with the "death" of their white-picket-fence dream for Clay. He talked about that yesterday. But I guess, in thinking about it yesterday.....I can't imagine what exactly, in the white-picket-fence dream he is missing. His fence may be blue....and some of the pickets might be applied upside down or unevenly...but would we expect anything else of Clay?

He has a partner that he loves, and who loves him dearly; he has a beautiful baby boy, the start I suspect of a larger family. He has a great job which he enjoys, which pays him well enough to maintain a very nice lifestyle. He has the respect of many of his peers in his industry, and the love of many, many friends and extended family.

What am I missing? What is he missing?

I think he is clearly as happy as he's ever been in life....and I'm so happy for him! This is EXACTLY what I wanted for him. Always.

I'll be in NYC in January for a week, and at the Gala with bells on. I wouldn't miss either of them.

I'm so looking forward to our trip to NYC, glad you're going to the Gala.

[annabear]

Clay just posted at the OFC: Post # 5715

[Couch Tomato]

It is surreal

But what I've discovered over the past few days that while the general announcement that Clay is gay is a waste of ink (I saw a few comments on GMA board about how the financial world was falling so they didn't need two days of Clay - well hard to disagree with that) I've seen that his coming out has raised a lot of issues in gay publications regarding parenting and it's truly an important issue. Didn't know gay people couldn't adopt in Florida.

[Couch Tomato]

Clay is a way better person than me. LOL.

But like Kareneh said this morning.>I'm done over there. It's just not the type of place for me.

[luckiest1]

What a guy.

[spikesmom]

Just when I think I can't possibly love him more, he goes and does/says something that makes me love him more!!

I wish I was half as smart, patient, and compassionate as he is. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[Couch Tomato]

Just when I think I can't possibly love him more, he goes and does/says something that makes me love him more!!

I wish I was half as smart, patient, and compassionate as he is. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Patience is one thing I don't have and that's the reason I'm not a parent. He's gonna be a great dad.

[merrieeee]

I love that man!!!!!!

[Totally]

Hey Gals!

I haven't posted here in a while although I come over and read every once in a while. I've got some good friends over here and have always wanted to feel part of the FCA family, but to be honest, had a hard time being active on a board where I felt I had to pretend that Clay was straight when I believed deep down that he was gay (not that there were many places where I could be honest about that opinion, lol). So I came back over thinking that maybe now it would be easier for me to be more active here.

I'm very happy that Clay has decided to be honest with his fans and lead a genuine life. And I'm very happy for Clay that he's a dad. Seeing him with Parker both yesterday and this morning pulled at my heartstrings. I think he will be a wonderful dad.

As for what Jaymes did on the OFC yesterday, I'm going to have to agree with Playbiller and Claygasm, which might seem odd considering that I clearly have no issues with Clay coming out and not even any need for any processing time, since I did that back in late 2005 and 2006.

I thought her posting at the OFC was wrong in so many ways. I don't disagree with her words as much as I really wish she wasn't there stirring up the fan divisiveness again. I thought maybe, maybe naively, that the good fan/bad fan crap might begin to heal... But IMO she just made things worse.

I thought she was preachy and heavy handed. She was scolding people who were having legitimate problems with this news. I totally get where she is coming from, but she is not coming from the same place we, the fans, are. She is not one of us. She is part of Clay's real life and inner circle. We are not. She cannot put herself in our shoes. She cannot fully understand how so many are feeling. She is not a fan. That board was meant for the fans, not for an over protective woman to run and defend her man!

She needs to learn her place and keep off the fan boards. This reminded me of sticking her nose in where it didn't belong at the beginning of JNT05. And we all saw how well that went over!

I think there are many people understandably struggling with this news, who legitimately need and deserve time to process it, and who were doing just that. Then Jaymes comes in there and starts calling any fans who were struggling homophobes. Not fair. I don't care that she says she was just talking to 2% of the fandom - if she was, then why the need for the rant? Totally uncalled for. Clay DID mislead the fandom. I may have decided within myself that he was gay a long time ago, but I have to respect those that decided to "take him at his word".

I think Jaymes did a lot of damage to the fandom yesterday and caused Clay to lose fans that he would not otherwise have lost (not that she cares - I truly thinks she could care less about his fans). She created rifts and sides where there was beginning to be healing and understanding. Preaching and scolding never accomplish anything, and not only did Jaymes do that, she was damn rude about it. I thought her "rant" was OTT, and I highly doubt that Clay would have approved of it. I sure hope not. I would be really disappointed if Clay would treat his fans that way. Clay talked about Patience and knowing that his fans would need time and that emotions would run the gamut. Clay asked that there be no editing for at least two weeks in the OFC so that fans could work thru their feelings. Then Jaymes comes in and starts giving gold stars to those posters whose attitudes she likes and being very condescending to those whose posts she doesn't like. It seemed very judgemental and obnoxious to me and not at all conducive to letting the fans work thru their feelings.

She's known that Clay was gay probably from the time she met him or at least for a very long time. Many of his fans have known for a couple of days. Don't they deserve some time to deal with the news and the fact that they've been defending and believing in "his word" for five years? I agree with CG that she doesn't belong on the boards. She is NOT a fan. She is his closest friend and the mother of his son. And I don't believe she's coming on the board as a fan.

Perhaps she was very hormonal yesterday and lonely and bored. I dunno. But what she did was not productive or helpful to Clay. She took a day when we should have been focused on Clay and the interview and turned the focus onto her. It didn't sit well with me, and I know many fans who feel the same.

I think it's interesting that after years of feeling rejected by a large contingent of the fandom for believing that Clay was gay that now I am feeling protective of their right to have time and compassion in dealing with and processing this news. But I am. Perhaps I know what it's like to be told what I am supposed to think and feel, and I don't like that.

ETA - Or what Clay posted. I love that man.

[Cotton]

I'm confused.....Clay does have a loving family....perhaps white picket fences are not allowed in the homeowner association deed restrictions, though!

I keep reading that Jaymes' posts derailed the fandom. BULLSHIT. For the most part, the real negative crap is from people who are negative about everything anyway, and seem to take delight in throwing a Baby Ruth into the swimming pool. And the fandom was more fucked up over Hockeygate, the Great RCA Conspiracy Theory, FBM, fff, whatever, than this. And IMO it was fucked up deliberately, for amusement. There are posters who cannot stand to see the fandom all happy; hell, seems they turn on a dime and get pissy just for the fun of it. But they are easily disregarded.

Maybe I am not good at this fan thingy, but I am honestly puzzled about why his personal life angers some fans or makes them upset - not throwing stones, it just is bewildering.

This just CMSU!

Hi, all.

I still look like the Bride of Frankenstein. My doc really made my day when he looked at my stitches and said, "As we get older . . ."! pffft!

I said, "Thanks a lot, Doc, for starting my day off telling me I'm OLD!"

He laughed, saying he's right up there with me.

Anyway he says they look good, but it's a mattress stitch so it's all or nothing. He wanted to take some out and leave some in, but, alas, they did the running stitch. So now the stitches have to stay until Tuesday! Ack!

Thanks for the pm's.

I did do an advanced search at OFC. I did find the list of Jaymes' posts, but I can't click to go straight to each post to read the whole thing. V.V. aggravating!

So - I'm waiting for an email with the text.

I did read the first long one. I think I like her!

Anyway, thanks to all who tried to help. I hope I'll get to read them all later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I loved seeing Clay look so happy and relaxed and confident. And BIG!

Did you notice how large he looks?!

I said when I had my Meet and Greet with him, he's a BIG Guy!

I marvel that anyone ever called him elfin!

He still has sparkly eyes

He still has an infectious laugh.

He and Diane seemed to have everything pretty much planned out to hit the points they wanted to hit.

In summing up the week:

Welcome to . . .

Clayworld Tilt-a-Whirl! Carnival Rides at their mind-numbing best!

First you feel your stomach in your throat, then you see the big drop coming, then you coast into home safely with your clothes and hair askew and a big ol' smile on your face.

If you're not one of those who throws up on such things!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!