Clay Talks About The Gay Elephant In The Closet

The Gayken is set to begin his role in Broadway’s Spamalot, which means he’s doing a bunch of interviews to promote the show.
Thankfully, though, journalists are “going there.” Almost every single interviewer is bringing up the American Idol alum’s homosexuality, which he still continues to deny.
Here are the highlights from his new interview with Time Out New York:
Time Out New York: So Spamalot isn’t how one expects Clay Aiken to invade Broadway.
Clay Aiken: And tell me why not! [Laughs]
Time Out New York: Well, you seem like a traditional guy. It’s a pretty unconventional show.
Clay Aiken: That’s exactly why we chose it. If you’re going to branch out into a new field, well, go whole hog—try something different.
Time Out New York: Had you seen the movie?
Clay Aiken: Never. And the first time I saw the show, I thought, This is stupid—there’s no plot. What’s the point?!? I had this image of Broadway having uplifting stories and melodies. But Spamalot’s just silliness and irreverence raised to a completely different level. I get to soil myself onstage!
Time Out New York: What will your fans think of that?
Clay Aiken: If I’ve learned one thing in the past five years, it’s that you’ll never please everybody. But the people who’ve been so supportive of us, they trust us enough to have some fun here and there, and be a little irreverent. I won’t be soiling myself for the rest of my life.
Time Out New York: Did you come up with the term Claymates?
Clay Aiken: No, it started when I was on American Idol. I didn’t really like it at first. I was like, Oh my God, how tacky! But now I think, If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. We’ve fully embraced it.
Time Out New York: Ever worry you’ll get a limb torn off?
Clay Aiken: Maybe just squeezed to death. [Laughs] But the Claymates are just a section of the fan base. The overwhelming majority are very respectful, very protective and mothering. If I sneeze onstage one night, 15 people show up at the next tour stop with Triaminic. I’ve got far more mothers than I ever needed!
Time Out New York: Is it true you’re allergic to nuts?
Clay Aiken: I’m allergic to a number of things: tree nuts, coffee, mints, chocolate. Some fans tried to introduce me to carob a few years ago. But it gave me the runs, so… [Laughs]
Time Out New York: Speaking of which, is it safe to say Rosie O’Donnell had diarrhea of the mouth when she called Kelly Ripa “homophobic”?
Clay Aiken: Oh, God. I think people on TV say certain things just so they can get attention. I didn’t agree with Rosie. But I appreciated her trying to come to my defense, in one way or another!
Time Out New York: What do you make of people nagging you about the “gay” thing?
Clay Aiken: I think the majority of the American public cares less about it than reporters like you do.
Time Out New York: Has anyone ever confronted you about it in public?
Clay Aiken: I can’t come up with any specific incidents. But I’ve been called everything in the book at some point or another—gay, ugly, nerdy, fat.
Hmmmm….
What have we learned about Clay????
He’s into scat play!!!
[Photo via Getty Images.]