#56: Clay's going to sing. Life is good.

[ldyjocelyn]

eonline.com

Clay Aiken Takes Stand for Gay Rights..."And It's About Damn Time"

Clay Aiken Takes Stand for Gay Rights..."And It's About Damn Time"

Today 1:25 PM PST by BRANDI FOWLER

More than a year after Clay Aiken announced he was gay, the former American Idol star is taking a stand for gay rights issues.

"We have a great deal of more work to do," he said Saturday during the Human Rights Campaign dinner in North Carolina before a crowd that included former Family Ties star Meredith Baxter. "Our time is now, and it's about damn time."

According to the blog Pam's House Blend, the 31-year-old "Invisible" crooner, who came out in September 2008, argued that the HRC is fighting for equality for everyone. He also addressed why he waited to reveal his sexuality to Claymates.

"What the hell took me so long? I was waiting like so many folks are waiting… for change," Aiken said. "I realized the time for waiting has passed. The power of truth and living honestly is very liberating".

Aiken has an 18-month-old son, Parker, who was conceived via in vitro fertilization with music producer and longtime friend Jaymes Foster.

Read more: http://www.eonline.c...l#ixzz0gsL56UOg

Includes video of his entire speech.

[cindilu2]

It's nice that E! didn't add their spin to the story this time.

I still detest them. Just look at the titles of the 'related articles' for the explanation.

[FromClaygary]

Can hardly wait for Scarlett's video.

He done good.

Reed lent him some of his hair goo.

[Carolina Clay]

I have enjoyed watching the Olympics. Congratulations to the Canadians for the hockey win and a very special Winter Olympics! :cheer:

The new Carolina On My Mind blog is all about Clay's HRC speech in Raleigh Saturday night, complete with video player, portions of the text quoted, video/audio download links, and art.

Clay Aiken's speech at the Human Rights Campaign Carolinas Gala in Raleigh Saturday was eloquent, passionate, and even sprinkled with his trademark humor as he outlined the long, arduous path preceding major civil rights milestones, most often achieved after "it was about damn time."

Clickable Collage

Fountaindawg/Cotton

As always, thank you for your comments/hits in the Internet Clay blogs.

Looking forward to your video, Scarlett!

Have an awesome week, all!

Caro

[ausdon]

Great Speech - articulate, cute, funny, talented man.

[justclay12]

Everytime I think that I can't love him more, or be more proud of him, and Clay goes and proves me wrong. He is an amazing man.

[Lotus]

From the Eonline article...

He also addressed why he waited to reveal his sexuality to Claymates.

I am a little ticked by the inference that Claymates were deluded and the only people he needed to come out to, as though he hadn't been hounded by the media for years. How did they get that from his speech?

On a happy celebratory note...Yeah Team Canada!!

[Couch Tomato]

Does anyone know if the Bolt Babes 4 Clay are still hanging out here. You have to be a member to get in and I don't want to sign up at a million sites. I just wanna make sure it's still active. I'm cleaning up links on FCA. Same for these central ohio clay fans.

[gbmifan]

Coach Tomato I do not know about those sites but I do know the Michigan site is no longer around. I went to sign in awhile ago and the site would not come up. Being a member I thought they would of e-mailed us they were closing but I got nothing, just a site not found when I tried to get on.

[aikim]

11 Days until The Tried and True Special is taped!

20 Days until The First Day of Spring!

:glasses:

3 Months until June and the new CD/PBS Special!

:04:

Clay addresses The Key Club Convention in July!

Happy Birthday to all celebrating!

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

[ldyjocelyn]

From toni7babe at CV (with her permission):

Bringing my post from CV over here:

claylilly sent me her two pics and asked that I crop them just to feature Clay and Reed and tag them as her friend Lisa took them and to post them for her.

Thanks SO MUCH to claylilly and Lisa P for sharing these with us.

the pic with Clay is blurry so I couldn't do a little close up like I was able to with the one of Reed.

But boy do both guys look gorgeous!

CUUUUUUUTE!

[keepingfaith]

Both guys are undeniably cute, but not enough hair on the heads of either, IMO.

As to the question of why Clay didn't come out earlier to the "Claymates" ... that's probably valid in that Clay's fans were the ones who cared so much about it, to be honest. Clay came out in September 2008, and the only people I know who acted like it was news were among the fans. When I first mentioned it to my youngest son the day the story broke on the net, he said, "Mom, I think you may have been the last to know. When people are asked if they are gay and they challenge the question and refuse to answer, they're gay." I'm not necessarily standing by that comment because I have an open mind and I presume there could be underlying reasons for people to say just about anything, but most of the reactions I heard outside of the fandom were like, ... "Duh! Who didn't know THAT?" I do remember scratching my head during his LKL interview in 2006 when Larry told him that he should just come out and then the air would go out of the controversy and nobody would care, and Clay said, "I don't agree with that" - which did say something actually. I'm just glad that everybody is on the same wavelength these days. And I'm especially happy for Clay to be living an open life.

About his speech, I have one comment -- if he's going to discuss Parker in speeches and interviews, and declare his son's brilliance and superiority to the equality of the masses, he needs to produce this wonder child for us to see. Really, all I need is an updated photo to see if Parker still looks as much like his daddy as he did in the high-chair pictures. I know this toddler is adorable, and he's a Little Leo which means he's predisposed to being precocious and thriving on attention. I don't want to see him paraded around like Suri Cruise in high heels, but a picture or two would be loverly.

And it's NEXT WEEK now!!! (ETA: Well I WISH it were next week now. But I guess I should just say, NEXT WEEK!!!)

[FromClaygary]

From toni7babe at CV (with her permission):

Bringing my post from CV over here:

claylilly sent me her two pics and asked that I crop them just to feature Clay and Reed and tag them as her friend Lisa took them and to post them for her.

Thanks SO MUCH to claylilly and Lisa P for sharing these with us.

the pic with Clay is blurry so I couldn't do a little close up like I was able to with the one of Reed.

But boy do both guys look gorgeous!

CUUUUUUUTE!

These make me laugh, cuz I sure know what happened to the photog here! It's a combination of "CHA in front of me...yikes!" and "that boy NEVER stands still!"

I'm so sorry for the other photographee that they didn't turn out though....

[FromClaygary]

And on another note completely.....

For those on FB...you may remember that The Sparkle Effect was in a Pepsi contest HEREin February...many of us voted for them. The Sparkle Effect was a 2009 National Inclusion Project Champion of Change at the Gala. They won!!

$25,000 for their programs, which I'm sure they will put to good use.

On an even more exciting note....Jerry Aiken posted this on his FB this morning:

Good morning - the National Inclusion Project will be competing in the Pepsi Refresh challenge in one of the upcoming months. We are currently developing our campaign and will be soliciting the input and guidance of many supporters, volunteers, and all friends of the Project. Check out this oportunity at www.refresheverything.com

Get those voting fingers limbered up!! If you're not already signed up for the Pepsi Challenge, you can do so HERE in anticipation (NOT necessary to be a FB member) and in the interim, get in practice, voting for some very worthwhile charities.

The National Inclusion Project is at the moment supporting The Tommy Foundation which provides education and support to autism communities and families, and you can help us help them currently.

ETA...hmmm....for future reference, it looks as though you can have 10 votes per day for your email signup, PLUS 10 votes per day if you are on Facebook and linked...just FYI. It gave me both today, anyway.

ETA again: (sorry)....a further comment from Jerry Aiken re the Pepsi Challenge:

"We will be providing additional information and soliciting ideas and help. The Pepsi challenge is significant and the winners have major campaigns to ensure success. To win we will require more connections and votes than ever before. It will take a strong will from everyone and the fortitude to vote daily and we have some ideas such as email reminders that may help. More to come! Thanks."

[claikendee]

WOW! Been awhile since i've been here...it looks different!

i made a blend of the HRC pics i wanted to drop off

click me - -

[FromClaygary]

Scarlett's video of Clay's speech at the HRC Gala is now up in the vault and (I assume) at CU.

ETA the CU link

Remember.....PLEASE only use if you do NOT have a key!!

[Couch Tomato]

I don't really agree with your assessment KF. The whole world assumed he was gay based on stereotypical mannerisms. I bet they would throw that gay label on other people like John Edwards too. I think there is more something wrong wtih that than just kinda believing he wasn't gay. I didn't really care one way or the other and it only took a minute to adjust my mindset but if he had never come out then I would still be sitting here believing what I believed. But since what I believe doesn't affect world peace I dont' think it's a big deal. one way or the other. And I don't think anyone who knew it all the time are any more real than the next person. I think the big difference is really invested -- don't give a damn.

[keepingfaith]

I don't really agree with your assessment KF. The whole world assumed he was gay based on stereotypical mannerisms. I bet they would throw that gay label on other people like John Edwards too. I think there is more something wrong wtih that than just kinda believing he wasn't gay. I didn't really care one way or the other and it only took a minute to adjust my mindset but if he had never come out then I would still be sitting here believing what I believed. But since what I believe doesn't affect world peace I dont' think it's a big deal. one way or the other. And I don't think anyone who knew it all the time are any more real than the next person. I think the big difference is really invested -- don't give a damn.

It wasn't mannerisms, for my son it was a rich young famous guy with no girlfriends, which didn't say he was gay, but it did say he wasn't much interested in being seen out and about with eligible women. According to the conventional wisdom of the fans, or so I was told, he was all but a roaring whore-dog in college and this inside info was from a group of his female friends who dished with the fans early on and seemed to cement the certainty of his straightness. So was that just a load that was spread around with no basis in fact? Looks that way to me. Anyway, I'm not a person who reads mannerisms because I know people across the spectrum of mannerisms, and stereotypes sometimes do and often don't pan out in reality, so they're basically worthless.

I think Clay was open with people he worked with in the business, open in that he was only in the closet with people he didn't know, and Grandma too. Apparently a lot of people did know for sure, and Clay even said as much in an interview. Do I care one way or the other? Hell, no. But do I think that everyone that ever insinuated that he was gay before he came out had evil intentions for Clay? Hell, no, again. To me, that kind of thinking is basically stigmatizing people. And that kind of thinking was pretty prevalent among Clay's fans, but I don't give people who think that way much thought - I'm not the evangelist type.

[Couch Tomato]

I don't really agree with your assessment KF. The whole world assumed he was gay based on stereotypical mannerisms. I bet they would throw that gay label on other people like John Edwards too. I think there is more something wrong wtih that than just kinda believing he wasn't gay. I didn't really care one way or the other and it only took a minute to adjust my mindset but if he had never come out then I would still be sitting here believing what I believed. But since what I believe doesn't affect world peace I dont' think it's a big deal. one way or the other. And I don't think anyone who knew it all the time are any more real than the next person. I think the big difference is really invested -- don't give a damn.

It wasn't mannerisms, for my son it was a rich young famous guy with no girlfriends, which didn't say he was gay, but it did say he wasn't much interested in being seen out and about with eligible women. According to the conventional wisdom of the fans, or so I was told, he was all but a roaring whore-dog and this inside info was from a group of women he went to college with who dished with the fans early on as to his relationships with women which seemed to cement the certitude of straightness. So was that just a load that was spread around with no basis in fact? Looks that way to me. Anyway, I'm not a person who reads mannerisms because I know people across the spectrum of mannerisms, and stereotypes sometimes do and and often don't pan out in reality.

Also, I think Clay was open with people he worked with in the business, open in that he was only in the closet with people he didn't know, and Grandma too. Apparently a lot of people did know for sure, and Clay even said as much in an interview.

Do I care one way or the other? Hell, no. But do I think that everyone that ever insinuated that he was gay before he came out was propogating evil against Clay? Hell, no, again. To me, thinking that way is basically making being gay a stigma. To some it may be, but I don't give people who think that way much thought - I'm not the evangelist type.

eh, I think this subject is probably played out. There is no conventional wisdom in this fandom. That's its biggest problem LOL. I just don't put much stock in anybody who knew he was gay when they probably saw him on tv a few times, like my auntie. Her opinion wasn't based on anything knowledgeable and it came from a snickering place. I never responded to her as it didn't matter. It's obvious to me he was open with some people but it was a select group as was his right. So Clay's private life had no bearing on anything that I believed since it was just that, private and none of my busines. There is a large area beatween propogating evil and I knew he was gay, not all of it harmless. IMO. Otherwise Clay wouldn't have to be on a podium giving a speach about it being damn time.

[gbmifan]

Look what just showed up!!!!! A tour date:

http://www.biltmore.com/visit/calendar/concerts.asp

[goldarngirl]

Just posted on CV. EEEEEEEE.

I just saw this posted for the Biltmore!!!!! EEEEEEEE

Biltmore Estate has announced its expanded 2010 concert season, which includes performances by the Steve Miller Band, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Oscar-winning singer-songwriter Christopher Cross.

Some of the shows will be held at the new Diana at Biltmore venue, with other dates at the traditional location on the South Terrace lawn. Tickets will go on sale April 6. For more information call 866-336-1255

The shows are The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band June 4, The Original Drifters June 11, Brandon Heath July 16 (all at the Diana), The Gaither Vocal Band July 17, Mary Chapin Carpenter July 22, Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard July 21, The Steve Miller Band July 29, The Legendary Temptations July 30 (all on the South Terrace lawn), and Christopher Cross Sept. 24 and Kathy Mattea Oct. 4 (both at the Diana).

Oops sorry the site says the 23rd Biltmore

[cindilu2]

And so it begins!

[luckiest1]

TOUR! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[cindilu2]

I don't consider myself naive, nor do I think I had my head in the sand where Clay's sexuality was concerned. I truly believed he wasn't gay, because he said so (and no, I don't blame him in any way, shape or form for that. It's what being in the closet means). I would have gone to my grave believing he was straight if it didn't come from his own mouth. Just like I had no problem believing that he was once he came out.

I detest the idea that 'no comment' (aka: none of your fucking business) should automatically be seen as tacit admission of anything.

[FearofH2O]

Could the tour be because my new gps was delivered today? Now all I need is a new set of tires.