'American Idol' alum Clay Aiken recalls losing fans after coming out in 2008
Clay Aiken recently looked back on the challenges he faced when he came out in 2008, and how far society has come since then.
The "American Idol" alum first revealed his sexuality as a gay man on the cover of People Magazine in 2008 after welcoming his son Parker in August that year.
"It was the first decision I made as a father," Aiken explained of his decision to come out at the time. "I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn't raised that way, and I'm not going to raise a child to do that."
In a Dec. 10 interview with People, Aiken reflected on how much speculation about his sexuality shaped his public persona. While coming out in 2008 brought clarity, he said it came at a cost.
"Back then it was a big deal," he said, recalling the impact it had on his Broadway run in "Spamalot" at the time.
"The first four months that I was in, the show was selling out, standing room only. You can actually look at the ticket sales the week after that cover came out," he explained, referring to his 2008 People cover. "It went from selling very well to the week after the cover came out, the ticket sales dropped. 'Spamalot' ended up closing a few months after that."
"We are in a very different time," he added. "I lost maybe 50% of the fan base."
Despite the setbacks, Aiken said he has no regrets and is grateful the world has changed for the better.
"A lot of people who come out now end up having boosts in popularity because of it... That's mind-blowing to me because it's the opposite of what happened when I came out," he said. "But it means that there's progress and it means that as a country, we're headed in the right direction."
After finishing as the runner-up on "American Idol," Aiken toured across the United States and made his Broadway debut. He was also the first "American Idol" alum to debut a single at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Last month, Aiken returned to music after more than a decade with his new holiday album, "Christmas Bells Are Ringing."
