Clay Aiken is Gay, Says People Magazine Cover

The latest People Magazine features Clay Aiken holding his newborn son, with the words "Yes, I'm Gay" splashed on the cover. According to People.com, who posted the cover shot on its site, Clay Aiken came out publicly admitting that he is gay because he didn't want to hide or lie about his homosexuality while raising newborn son, Parker, who was conceived via in-vitro with a longtime friend.

How are Clay Aiken's fans reacting to the news that he is gay?

Fans of Clay Aiken that are posting on Claymaniacs.com are thus far supportive of Clay Aiken's decision to come out. Reactions vacillate between complete and utter shock to those who think that news that Clay Aiken is gay is not a surprise at all. Several posts in the forum there note that despite his admission that he is gay, he is still a talented vocalist.

Over at Perezhilton.com, a picture of the People Magazine cover is captioned with a warm welcome, stating "Welcome to the gayborhood, daddy!" Like fans on Claymaniacs.com, fans at this site expressed faux shock and awe at Clay Aiken's "Yes, I'm Gay" announcement and even went so far as to speculate whether or not Clay Aiken will join the ranks of other gay celebrities and begin dating in earnest out in the open. Some posts suggested perhaps a match with Lance Bass or Ricky Martin.

Will Clay Aiken's formal announcement that he is gay affect his stardom?

Hollywood is about as liberal as it comes and there are many gay and lesbian stars in Hollywood. In the not so distant past, long time lovers Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi tied the knot after the ban on gay marriages was lifted in California. Ellen DeGeneres, out for a decade, may have suffered the stigma for a bit at first as her TV show dropped in popularity after her announcement and was canceled. However, her current talk show is widely popular and has won numerous Daytime Emmy and People's Choice Awards.

Neil Patrick Harris, Doogie Howser to some, but known more recently to sci-fi fans as "Dr. Horrible" in Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog told People Magazine nearly two years ago that he was gay. According to People, he came out to make sure that there was no misreporting of his personal life and relationships. However, Neil Patrick Harris' career did not suffer due to this announcement. In 2006 when the announcement was made, he was starring in How I Met Your Mother, now in its fourth season. Once the hype of Clay Aiken's gay announcement dies down, he should do just fine. Today's Hollywood doesn't seem to care about sexual orientation.

Sources:

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,26334,1554852,00.html

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20228488,00.html

http://perezhilton.com/2008-09-23-finally-6

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h88VUqAk-dW1JWAbdV4iCWFsNDcQD93D3O300

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_DeGeneres

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/