“I thought you were good, Clay. But you’re not good. You’re just another lying old dirty birdy.”
“Clay has such a power over me that I couldn’t turn away from him if I wanted to.”
So says avowed Clay Aiken fan ClaysCutiePie14 over at the Clayboard, and I know how she feels because that’s how I feel … about the Clayboard. I can’t stop visiting that website.
I’ve already compiled a companion piece to my previous post about the Claymate reaction to Aiken’s coming out, but I won’t have everything ready until tomorrow. Still, I couldn’t wait to post this, the campiest Claymate post of all time. It starts off slow, but stick with it and I promise you won’t be disappointed:
Now that Clay Aiken has officially come out of the closet, calling the move “the first decision I made as a father,” his most outspoken fans, the oft-mocked Claymates, are slowly inching from bargaining to acceptance. I’ve been observing their reactions from afar since lastnight, when the ban on the People cover story discussion was lifted at The Clayboard and members commenced consoling each other and weighing in on the announcement.
From “The Clayboard,” a fan forum dedicated to Clay Aiken of American Idol:
“Clay fans are brave and loyal and loving, and sometimes they are truly tested. Hugs to everyone who has weathered the storm.”
Honestly, I’m surprised. I was expecting all kinds of crying and carrying on, but apparently the subject of Aiken’s appearance on the cover of People magazine — he is shown cradling his newborn son alongside the headline “Yes, I’m Gay” and the words “The Idol star opens up about his emotional decision to come out: ‘I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things'”—is verboten until the authenticity of the story has been established.
For the record, a USA Today entertainment blogger has already posted that while People doesn’t have the cover on their website yet, “they confirm it’s real.” And there is currently a red breaking news style banner running across the top of the magazine’s website that advises readers to “Come back Wednesday for the full scoop on Clay Aiken at 7 A.M. EDT.”
Julie Christie looked great at the SAG Awards last night, just as you’d expect. Equally unsurprising, Juno star Ellen Page was born without the dress posture gene:
“Why, yes, I used to play team sports.”
Five minutes with John Travolta would change all of that, but it’s imperative she bring along someone who can yank her out of the room when the E-meter comes out. I volunteer Diablo Cody.
Is Hayden Panettiere the new Jane Fonda? (These Washington Post reporters are referring to her activism, of course. While my exposure to Heroes is limited, I did catch Panettiere in Raising Helen and I don’t think we’ll be seeing her in a remake of Barbarella or Klute or Tout va bien.)
In an interview with New York Magazine, Clay Aiken forgets that he isn’t Lucinda Williams and journalist/fellow lesbian Ariel Levy isn’t Bill Buford as he plays up the Southern shtick. What you’ll learn, if you can hang with the Aiken for four excruciating pages, is approximately this: he’s a Democrat now, a shameless self-promoter, and he “has never had a romantic relationship with anyone, unless you count the girls he took to dances back in high school in Raleigh.” Sounds perfect for Raúl Esparza.
Reviews of Shelby Lynne’s Just a Little Lovin’ are coming in, and you can read them here and here. If you’re looking for Lynne’s contentious Advocate interview, we’ve got the scoop.
The Timespoints out that Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama have identical opinions on gay rights issues, while fear-mongering Republicans continue to pander to bigots.
Margo Bennett, the former lover of crazy lesbian novelist Patricia Cornwell, is blabbing about their relationship—you know, the one that made headlines when Bennett’s husband hatched a murderous plot that landed him behind bars—in an upcoming book called Twisted Triangle. In a passage that makes Cornwell’s schlocky prose sound downright Proustian in comparison, authors Caitlin Rother and John Hess write: “As they talked, Margo felt the blood coursing through her veins, very aware of the close proximity of her body to Patsy’s. It felt dangerous. Wrong. Thrilling.” Anyone else think this would make the perfect made-for-cable comeback vehicle for Kelly McGillis?
