New father Clay Aiken sat down with Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer Thursday morning in his first television interview since revealing to People mag that he is gay.
"I don't ever want to raise him in an environment where it's not OK for him to be exactly who he is, no matter what," Aiken told Sawyer about his newborn son, Parker Foster Aiken.
Aiken, 29, opened up to Sawyer about his journey coming out, revealing that he did not tell anyone he was gay until he was on "American Idol," when he told fellow contestant Kimberley Locke.
"When I got on 'Idol' ... people were cheering me on and being supportive," said Aiken, who was runner-up on the singing showdown in 2003. "There you are in an environment that is more open and more accepting ... where you don't feel like such an outcast."
Aiken had a harder time coming out to his family. He broke the news to his mother, Faye, four years ago.
"Poor mom, I told her the day that my brother left for Iraq for the first time ... I just thought, 'Well, it's a bad day already, might as well not spread it out.'" Mama Aiken was "obviously somewhat stunned," Clay said.
"She still struggles with things quite a bit, but she's come a long way," he added.
Aiken's coming out confirmed that has long swirled about the pop star's sexuality. The star said in People magazine that he did it for his son.
"It was the first decision I made as a father," said Aiken, whose son Parker was born Aug. 8. "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."
The 'Idol' star told People magazine he hopes his Claymate crazies can handle the news.
"Whether it be having a child out of wedlock, or whether it be simply being a homosexual, it's going to be a lot," Aiken said, adding that his fans "know that I never intended to lie to anybody at all."
Aiken went on to a successful recording career after achieving 'Idol' stardom. He returned to Broadway last week as Sir Robin in Monty Python's Spamalot.
The crooner's declaration is likely little surprise to most fans. Gossip blogs like perezhilton and others have long speculated that Aiken is gay. He has, until now, generally declined to address the matter. He appeared to deny it in at least one interview years ago.
When he was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone in July, 2003, he told the mag, "One thing I've found of people in the public eye, either you're a womanizer or you've got to be gay. Since I'm neither of those, people are completely concerned about me."
Earlier this year, Aiken announced that he was having a child with his producer Jaymes Foster. He confirmed it would be artificial insemination, again fueling speculation that he was gay.
His decision to come out on the cover of People follows that of several other gay celebs who've come out in main stream magazines.
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres came out on the cover of Time in 1997; and former 'NSync boybander Lance Bass and "Doogiie Howser"/"How I Met Your Mother" star Neil Patrick Harris both revealed their sexuality on People mag covers in 2006. via
