Clay Aiken, who got his big break in music in 2003 as runner-up on Season 2 on American Idol, says he lost “50%” of his fans after he came out as gay in 2008.
Aiken’s coming out was partly influenced by the birth of his son, Parker Foster Aiken, who was conceived via in vitro fertilisation with his friend Jaymes Foster.
“Back then it was a big deal,” he said in a new interview, referring to how times have changed in the last 16 years.
“We are in a very different time,” he added. “I lost maybe 50% of my fan base.”
In 2007, Aiken was cast in the role of Sir Robin in Spamalot, which closed a few months after he came out.
“The first four months that I was in [Spamalot], the show was selling out, standing room only,” he said. “You can actually look at the ticket sales the week after that cover came out. 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.”
Despite affecting his career, Aiken has stood behind coming out, saying he doesn’t regret coming out when he did.
“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.”
Since coming out, Aiken has strongly advocated for LGBTQ+ rights, often speaking out against anti-gay bullying and promoting equality.
Aiken recently made a return to recording, releasing a new Christmas album, Christmas Bells Are Ringing.