BREAKING NEWS! Clay Aiken has apparently come out of the closet! Kudos to Clay for coming to terms with his true self, and kudos to People magazine for paying the "American Idol" contestant to talk about his sexuality.
I had the privilege to interview Clay on September 21, 2006 (almost exactly two years ago!), during his "I'm gonna admit to taking anti-depressants and, at the same time, promote my new album" tour. My superiors in the department thought it would be a good opportunity for me to "gently" ask Clay about his personal life. At the time, there were all kinds of unflattering rumors surrounding the singer and his sexuality, and even though he'd recently called Diane Sawyer "rude" for asking about them, I figured I'd try my luck.
Watch Jim's awkward interview with Clay Aiken after the jump!
My interview with Clay was about as difficult as one would expect. He was thrilled to talk about his upcoming cover album (a poetically appropriate term — cover album — given the circumstances), but as soon as the topic turned to his personal life, things became more awkward than a Paula Abdul QVC appearance. And the awkwardness was thanks to me, mostly.
I present to you the full, uncut Q&A with Clay in all its cringe-inducing glory. Seriously. Trying to get Clay to come out of the closet on camera was one of the lowest points in my career. What was I thinking?!
It was an intense, tough and altogether unpleasant interview. And I take full responsibility for it. (I'm sure you noted my, uh, um, stutters, and at one point in the middle, I lost my train of thought, thanks to an angry glare from his publicist). Did I really think Clay would break down and say, "Yes, random sweaty MTV News interviewer guy. I can't keep this under wraps any longer. I am gay, dammit!" Apparently, I did.
On a side note, what are the Claymates going to do now? Anytime MTV News ever inferred anything about Clay's personal life (like this playful, silly Newsroom blog entry), we were bombarded with comments insisting he was their straight knight in shining armor. It always struck me as depressing that some Claymates apparently considered homosexuality a shameful, disgusting thing. (Is Sarah Palin a Clay fan?) Perhaps his most conservative fans contributed to his fear of coming out earlier in his career. In any case, congrats to Clay and his (adorable!) newborn baby. And for any Claymates who are going to ditch the singer because of his sexuality, take heart: There's always David Archuleta ...
Comments