#41: Clay Aiken Makes His Triumphant Return!

[trophywife]

De-lurking to say I don't know if anyone caught the end of SNL but at the end Amy Poehler came out wearing a Clay Aiken shirt. She even pointed to his name while the credits were rolling. I thought I was done crying but I'm now tearing up all over again. Or Amy is having Clay's baby too.

ETA: No nothing else was said. I expected them to make a joke during Weekend Update but they didn't do anything.

So proud of Clay. Thank god for this board and a few others because the OFC has got me so down. I'm really sick of the lying debate.

[merrieeee]

Now why does that make me tear up?

[Couch Tomato]

OK I guess I'm Clay central - My sister just called me..she was watching something called the Dish..whatever the hell that is - and they showed Clay's cover Yes I'm Gay - and someone said - not even a month old and he already knows he's gay? And somebody else said Aren't all babies a little gay? She picked up the phone to call me so missed the rest but they went to the next cover right after.

I guess I totally forgot that Clay would be fodder for a lot of shows. VERY surprised SNL did nothing..but yay for Amy...

[goldarngirl]

OK I guess I'm Clay central - My sister just called me..she was watching something called the Dish..whatever the hell that is - and they showed Clay's cover Yes I'm Gay - and someone said - not even a month old and he already knows he's gay? And somebody else said Aren't all babies a little gay? She picked up the phone to call me so missed the rest but they went to the next cover right after.

I guess I totally forgot that Clay would be fodder for a lot of shows. VERY surprised SNL did nothing..but yay for Amy...

Thanks for letting us know.

[RIFAN]

De-lurking to say I don't know if anyone caught the end of SNL but at the end Amy Poehler came out wearing a Clay Aiken shirt. She even pointed to his name while the credits were rolling. I thought I was done crying but I'm now tearing up all over again. Or Amy is having Clay's baby too.

ETA: No nothing else was said. I expected them to make a joke during Weekend Update but they didn't do anything.

So proud of Clay. Thank god for this board and a few others because the OFC has got me so down. I'm really sick of the lying debate.

I, too, am sick to death of the lying debate. Time to move on!!

Several of us were so upset that we went over and just started posting positive stuff and kept quoting each other and tried to ignore the other crap. But, that board is moving sooo fast, that is was hard to get a word in edgewise.

I really feel that an "official" fan club should be there for the purpose of celebrating and promoting and supporting an artist. It seems to me there are many of us that feel that way. It's just too damned bad that a few (who post loudly and frequently) should be allowed to take over the whole board. There must be something that can be done. I am very frustrated with the whole thing and just ignoring the board seems wrong. It's the board that Clay reads and I just hate that he has to read such crap.

Our group is going to go back tomorrow and all post at the same time and try to drown out the negativity. It may not solve the problem, but at least we will feel like we are trying. Wish we could do more.

[cha cha trusty]

What?? No stage door pix yet!!??

We went to a movie, Ghost Town, which was good, and then came home and watched SNL.

Did anyone report that Amy Pohler wore a yellow CLAY AIKEN shirt with his picture on it in the finale?

She held it out and pointed to it when the camera was on her!

[Cori Clayverted]

It wasn't actually a picture of Clay on that shirt. It was a picture of a SNL castmate Clay'd up.

Maybe she didn't have time to get a real shirt--and copywrite may have prevented her from just having one made up of a internet picture.

Cori

[Ansamcw]

It wasn't actually a picture of Clay on that shirt. It was a picture of a SNL castmate Clay'd up.

Maybe she didn't have time to get a real shirt--and copywrite may have prevented her from just having one made up of a internet picture.

Cori

Hey Cori welcome!!!

thanks for clarifying...and I am glad she did that.

I am not surprised that they didn't do anything. At this point its a bit sensitive cos its all so new and people may misconstrue the joke as making fun of him instead of showing support. I think Jimmy was able to do it because he is a good friend of Clay and he probably has known for a while so he knows Clay's humor.

YAY for the stage door !!!

[bottlecap]

Good to see a couple of new screen names up there! Post more often!

=============================================

Crap. I'm going to have to go over and post something at the OFC, aren't I? It's the whole "All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to say nothing" dealie, isn't it? I can do the occasional post and run without reading, I guess.

=============================================

Last night's stagedoor, from DianaGreenEyes at CB:

[luckiest1]

Oh, it does my heart good to see those stage door pics. And to read about the support on SNL. I am sitting here grinning like a loon. I just love him so much. All I ever wanted for him was to be happy, and he is glowing in those pics. YAY.

Now, do I dare to take on the OFC?

[FearofH2O]

Damn, 5 shows for me last april and may and I couldn't get near the stage door thanks to a bunch of blue haired old ladies and now I have to fight off some big ass men? This sucks!

I resemble that remark. I may have to add karate to my exercise routine.

<snip>

I, too, am sick to death of the lying debate. Time to move on!!

Several of us were so upset that we went over and just started posting positive stuff and kept quoting each other and tried to ignore the other crap. But, that board is moving sooo fast, that is was hard to get a word in edgewise.

I really feel that an "official" fan club should be there for the purpose of celebrating and promoting and supporting an artist. It seems to me there are many of us that feel that way. It's just too damned bad that a few (who post loudly and frequently) should be allowed to take over the whole board. There must be something that can be done. I am very frustrated with the whole thing and just ignoring the board seems wrong. It's the board that Clay reads and I just hate that he has to read such crap.

Our group is going to go back tomorrow and all post at the same time and try to drown out the negativity. It may not solve the problem, but at least we will feel like we are trying. Wish we could do more.

I haven't felt the need to go over there after reading the first round. . If they don't have an audience who are they going to complain to. Agreeing with each other isn't very fulfilling. We have had a lot of great Clay appearances this week and a lot of complimentary tv and online remarks. Clay is happy. I assume he and Jaymes will let it run its three weeks and then put the thread away. Reading around a few boards, some fans will go away and new ones will take their places. Nothing new.

Making fun of fans- eh what else is new. Some fans are a little cringe worthy, but the majority go about their lives and celebrate the amazing Clay Aiken when they have time. Let them laugh. As fans we have raised money for UNICEF and the BAF. I don't see these charities mocking us. On blogs we have drawn attention to Clay in order to further his humanitarian endeavors. Clay expresses his appreciation for us, he doesn't laugh. I don't have time for the mockers: there's places to go and people to see. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

ETA: Thanks for the pics BC. He looks just like he did last week. Who woulda thought.

[bottlecap]

Via ClayIzzaQT at CV:

HA! I bet Parker looks just like this when Jaymes wipes his chin off after he's had his bottle. :bb05:

[merrieeee]

Yep still the same old goofy Clay!

I've always thought I was (and still am) a heavily invested fan. I love him, I belong to message boards, travel to see him. oo and gah ...well you get the picture. I have suddenly realised that I am nowhere near as close to being invested as some of his fans are. My fandom has always been rooted in reality. He's human and not perfect. I don't expect anything from him other than to entertain me. I don't think he owes me anything and it's his life to live not mine but reading some of the posts over there opened my eyes. I really don't know him and he never even knew I existed. He really is just a great hobby. Some people like knitting, some like model trains, I like Clay Aiken.

Did these people really think he was "theirs"? Did they not understand he was just an entertainer? I feel for those having struggles with the faith issue and those having to come to terms with the news but the "he lied to me" stuff? I just don't get it. He is not their child, significent other, their bff or anything else close to him. It's like he lied to them personally. How could he when he has no idea who the vast majority of these fans are?

If you are going to go over there to the ofc just go early...trolls like to sleep in!

Now I'm going to watch Paula and the stage door again cos I know I can just send vibes through the video to Clay and he will come on his white charger and take me away from all this.

[luckiest1]

I managed to find a few hidden gems in amongst the bullshit. But after about 8 pages I'm done.

Think I'll go watch some clack now.

[aikim]

Good Morning Everyone,

Love the banner! So glad to hear Clay did the stagedoor, can't wait to see video!

20 Days until The BAF Gala!

26 Days until Clay is Roasting Matt Lauer!

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

[cindilu2]

Awww - the stage door video is awesome. He looks tall and skinny and oh-so-lickable. And he's wearing a white Canada sweatshirt - he looks so good in white, and I *heart* his Canadian connection! I have an overwhelming desire to reach through the monitor and fix his collar though, lolol. Wish I could hear him better - hopefully there'll be more video.

Very glad to see him out there again - and a nice crowd too. YAY for Saturdays!

[claytonic]

I have been a CLay fan from the start and a member of this board since 2004. I know many of you from my Clay travels and have enjoyed your company and influence in my life immensely. I felt I owed you my goodbye though lately I had not posted much. Here are my feelings. .....

I love Clay with all my heart and that will never change. I feel nothing but love. However, I am deeply saddened. I know one thing is that I do not hate him. I never will. I will support him but the support I will give til the day I die is that of a different kind. Like Clay, I need to be honest and true to myself. I will support him in prayer but I can't continue to be a fan at this time. I do not agree with his belief about homosexuality or by what I believe to be his choice. Many of you may disagree with me and even rail at me. Your right and I understand. I respect that this has had to be very difficult for him and actually understand why he hid it all even for as long as he did.

However, how I feel and what am I going to do now.....

I am grieving deeply as I will miss that glorious gift of God that is Clay, his voice, his love, his passion. I will miss the fandom. The fun. The comaraderie. I will miss him and I will miss all of you. This tears me apart and pains me greatly. This is one of the most difficult days of my life. I am in deep sorrow that I have to walk away like this now. But I can't stay and live a lie myself, no matter what. No matter how much I love his voice and many things about him. No matter how much I want the experience of being a fan in many ways. I have to do what I believe is right. And no matter how painful that is.

I have given much of the last 5 years to Clay. I have met him 3 times: Book signing, the tour bus and my M&G. I have seen him perform live almost 100 times. I have supported him at other appearances even when he was not singing. I have gone to gala's. I have contributed to UNICEF and the Bubel Aiken Foundation in money and time. I have promoted and defended the man to the hilt in many ways. All choices. My choices. Blessings have been mine the whole time. Though looking back perhaps I gave too much of my life and there has been a down side to my fandom. I have put CLay before God, my husband and my children and friends, often times. But again that was my choice and I believe no good intention, effort, or relationship was a waste. All comes together for the good.

I hope the best for Clay all his life.

I love him and I love you all

With this I say goodbye to Clay and this fanhood

Marge

I found this at the CB, posted on the 24th.

I am so baffled. I just don't understand this kind of judgement, from someone who has seen Clay live almost 100 times. How is this judgement possible, against someone who has made a difference in the lives of so many. One thing I've discovered, I love Clay more this week than I did last week, because he made the right decision for the right reasons, and I admire him for it.

ETA I left her name there. It appears she had put her full name an a mod edited her post to remove her last name. She sure means business. Sheesh.

[luckiest1]

Can someone post a link to the stage door video? It doesn't seem to have been vaulted yet. TIA.

ETA: All I can say about people who feel that way is, it's their loss. Too bad for them.

[jamar1700]

Well...claytonic to me that is the inherent problem with moral-absolutes.

It's fine to draw a line but at some point you have to cross it or respect it. People who choose to live their lives that way must come up against it a lot.

The one I have a real hard time with is...I was raised to think this (or that) is wrong. I want to know why they never formed their own opinion as an adult. Is it just because it's easy? I've always had some issues with the way my parents chose to be parents. But I will give them this...they taught me to be an independent thinker who didn't just blindly accept anyone else's opinions or worldview.

[RIFAN]

I have been a CLay fan from the start and a member of this board since 2004. I know many of you from my Clay travels and have enjoyed your company and influence in my life immensely. I felt I owed you my goodbye though lately I had not posted much. Here are my feelings. .....

I love Clay with all my heart and that will never change. I feel nothing but love. However, I am deeply saddened. I know one thing is that I do not hate him. I never will. I will support him but the support I will give til the day I die is that of a different kind. Like Clay, I need to be honest and true to myself. I will support him in prayer but I can't continue to be a fan at this time.

I do not agree with his belief about homosexuality or by what I believe to be his choice

. Many of you may disagree with me and even rail at me. Your right and I understand. I respect that this has had to be very difficult for him and actually understand why he hid it all even for as long as he did.

However, how I feel and what am I going to do now.....

I am grieving deeply as I will miss that glorious gift of God that is Clay, his voice, his love, his passion. I will miss the fandom. The fun. The comaraderie. I will miss him and I will miss all of you. This tears me apart and pains me greatly. This is one of the most difficult days of my life. I am in deep sorrow that I have to walk away like this now. But I can't stay and live a lie myself, no matter what. No matter how much I love his voice and many things about him. No matter how much I want the experience of being a fan in many ways. I have to do what I believe is right. And no matter how painful that is.

I have given much of the last 5 years to Clay. I have met him 3 times: Book signing, the tour bus and my M&G. I have seen him perform live almost 100 times. I have supported him at other appearances even when he was not singing. I have gone to gala's. I have contributed to UNICEF and the Bubel Aiken Foundation in money and time. I have promoted and defended the man to the hilt in many ways. All choices. My choices. Blessings have been mine the whole time. Though looking back perhaps I gave too much of my life and there has been a down side to my fandom. I have put CLay before God, my husband and my children and friends, often times. But again that was my choice and I believe no good intention, effort, or relationship was a waste. All comes together for the good.

I hope the best for Clay all his life.

I love him and I love you all

With this I say goodbye to Clay and this fanhood

Marge

I found this at the CB, posted on the 24th.

I am so baffled. I just don't understand this kind of judgement, from someone who has seen Clay live almost 100 times. How is this judgement possible, against someone who has made a difference in the lives of so many. One thing I've discovered, I love Clay more this week than I did last week, because he made the right decision for the right reasons, and I admire him for it.

ETA I left her name there. It appears she had put her full name an a mod edited her post to remove her last name. She sure means business. Sheesh.

Very sad and misinformed. She seems to think that he chose to be a homosexual. She apparently has no knowledge of genetics. Does she think that when people are born they get asked which they'd like to be--gay or straight? They don't get to choose this any more than they get to choose whether they are male or female, tall or short, or blond or brunette.

[claytonic]

Those who are driven by that kind of extreme attitude really scare me, it shows they are not capable of rational thinking and allow no room for flexibility. It's the same kind of thinking that drive terrorists to do what they do. Sorry to put it that way but that's how dangerous I think it is. In the same farewell speech, she says she had put Clay before God, her husband, children etc. Heck, does that make sense? Weird.

[ldyjocelyn]

Via ClayIzzaQT at CV:

HA! I bet Parker looks just like this when Jaymes wipes his chin off after he's had his bottle. :bb05:

BWAH! I thought that adorable too. Man, that whole thing was really adorable. I knew the "rubbing of meat" thing would make a few people spew their drinks when it happened...it did me. LOL.

I've always thought I was (and still am) a heavily invested fan. I love him, I belong to message boards, travel to see him. oo and gah ...well you get the picture. I have suddenly realised that I am nowhere near as close to being invested as some of his fans are. My fandom has always been rooted in reality. He's human and not perfect. I don't expect anything from him other than to entertain me. I don't think he owes me anything and it's his life to live not mine but reading some of the posts over there opened my eyes. I really don't know him and he never even knew I existed. He really is just a great hobby. Some people like knitting, some like model trains, I like Clay Aiken.

merrieee, you are me. I've known for years that I'm invested in the man, both financially and yes, emotionally. But I've also always known that I had to "keep it real." He's shown me time and time again how human he is, from the way he dresses (loved the Broads' thing the other day) to the way he sometimes shoots from the hip when speaking. Personally, I love that. Another thing: I know I spend a lot of time on the boards, waiting for Clay news. And yet, I also spend time with my husband (who comes first for me), my cats, the rest of my family, and yes, even my damn job. There has to be times to just step away. I think that keeps it "real" too.

Explaining that difference to my husband is hard though. For a while, he thought I was too invested, and maybe I was. And then I tell him the stories of FBM, and the people who are upset about this, or upset about him being with RCA, etc., and he now gets it. He understands me a whole bunch better.

Can someone post a link to the stage door video? It doesn't seem to have been vaulted yet. TIA.

Seconding this request PLEASE!!!

As for that poster from the CB...it's her choice, and I'm actually OK that she's made the choice. Do I understand her reasoning? Nope, and it makes me sad as a Christian that she feels this way. (Clay's mention on Friday about the stereotypes of Christians rang very true for me, and I was glad for him to try and clarify that.) But I actually don't fault her for making that choice, as long as she follows through on it. There's been a bunch of people in this fandom who have said "I don't like what he's doing, I'm leaving," only to come roaring back and making life a living hell for others who simply want to enjoy Clay. JMO of course.

cindilu, lovely banner!

[luckiest1]

I am having lunch with a friend of mine next week, who is also a member of this board, who is a born again Christian. I know she is making peace with this news in her own way and if she ulitmately chooses to walk away from this fandom, I know she will do it quietly and with respect. That's about all I can ask for.

[Claymatron]

My father had a terrific sense of humour. He always said he was an agnostic...that he would have been an athiest, but then there'd be no holidays. Anyway, I know this wasn't true because he said he felt closer to God when he was in the woods, or in his garden. He also said that some of the most horrific cruelty was done in the name of God and he couldn't support churches for perpetuating this kind of rationale. He hated prejudice of any kind...loved Duke Ellington and followed his band everywhere he could when he could afford it (sounds familiar), and had various band members, including The Duke, back to our home whenever they were in town.

I don't really know where I'm going with this, just that I miss him today and when I read that letter from "Marge", it made me grateful that I was raised the way I was, in a time when political correctness was in the distant future, I was taught that...if there was a God, He was all about love and acceptance.

::end of sappy post::

and dammit... more than ever!

[merrieeee]

Very sad and misinformed. She seems to think that he chose to be a homosexual. She apparently has no knowledge of genetics. Does she think that when people are born they get asked which they'd like to be--gay or straight? They don't get to choose this any more than they get to choose whether they are male or female, tall or short, or blond or brunette.

When I was young I always wanted to be tall, blonde and blue eyed with dead straight hair. Now I just want to be thin!!

See I have always wanted to think the word "christian" was an all encompassing term meaning you were a good person and lived a good life. It really for me is not about what faith you are or aren't and this is an example of why I think this way. When my grandmother died when I was in my 20s. My DH paid for my DD and I to fly back to England even though we really couldn't afford it. At the funeral her SIL and BIL didn't come. They told us it was because it was raining. Now they had a car and it was about 5 miles from their house. My Mum's friend lived 25 miles away, left 3 young children with her neighbour, took three buses to get to that funeral to support my Mother who was having a really bad time. Her friend didn't have any organized religious beliefs left any more (she had come from Holland after the war and saw a lot of inhumanity during that time.) My grandmother's relations were devout Baptists who went to church 3 times a week but didn't show enough compassion to support us when we needed it. Did it matter that my mother's friend had no belief system? No I think she did the "christian" thing.

Treating anyone with caring,respect and dignity is not about any religion. Oh and yes she got a ride home!