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If Clay Aiken Comes Out Could It Spark the Beginning of a Court Battle?
Clay isn’t the first and won’t be the last celebrity to deny his true sexuality for fear that “gay don’t pay”. While many in the Gay and Lesbian community want to swing the celebrity doors open, it’s understandable why some prefer to stay closeted.
If Clay’s career had developed in an honest way being gay would have much less negative impact on his career. Unfortunately, Clay was too greedy to let the opportunity afforded him by an unprecedented number ofI nternet fans go untapped. This is where the legal vulnerability begins.
Almost everything Clay achieved through fame he achieved dishonestly. He didn’t win the AMA award in a way that most would consider honest. CD and concert sales were grossly inflated by multiple purchases.Were it not for his Internet fanbase and the relative ease with which he could manipulate it, Clay would have enjoyed only a fraction of his early success. The fans were eager to avenge the loss to Ruben and so began an exploitation of good will that eventually developed into a cult following; exploitation being the operative word. Clay had a network of people to help him and was only too happy to reap the rewards…
TV aka TH – T had ties to Clive Davis, he managed a fraudulent “singing” duo called Milli Vanilli when Clive was head of Arista Records. T was on the boards from the beginning giving direction to the Claymates on how to help Clay and continued after he formed his own board now known as Red Hot Topic. He wasn’t completely honest about who he was until he was“outed”.
FSL – F was a Claymate who seemed to be on a mission. According to sources she posted on Bolt as Claythud and eventually maneuvered her way into Faye’s world and ultimately into Clay’s world. Mission accomplished one might say. F was/is a lawyer from Chicago and a Director for the Miss Illinois Organization. After she met Clay, “Claythud” made herself useful on the boards as a fan with ties to an“insider” at RCA. She would post both information and instructions to the fans, or “sports fans” as she liked to call them.. “Claythud” was later given a higher profile job as Director of the BAF (and pretty much everything else in Clay’s world). Wherever Clay went F usually followed. Everyone wanted to get close to F in hopes that they could then get close to Clay. F said jump and the mates said “how high”. F was a master of manipulation and an extremely important player in Clay’s rise to fame. Without F there would likely be no BAF, no UNICEF, no Presidential Appointment and many other things to besure.
The Publicists – Clay’s publicists had ties to some of Clay’s more visible Internet fans and used them as conduit for conveying and giving instructions.
Mama and Company – Mama and those in her circle of influence made nice with many of the board fans,especially the owners. She made sure that fans would know what Clay needed and when. Of course Mama couldn’t be bothered for comment during the times that the shit hit the fan. Mama once said about Clay “what you see is what you get” when people heaped praise upon her seemingly wholesome, pure, goody-two shoes son. Mama, it turns out, was wrong.
The Friends – Clay’s friends also made nice with some of the board fans. They secretly, and sometimes not so secretly, brought instructions to the fans through selected contacts. None of these friends would ever publicly comment when the scandals began breaking.
Board Owners – Owners and moderators of the boards made sure that not a disparaging word was uttered that might hurt Clay or make the fans less inclined to support him with such fervor. It was as if they had to show their worth to Clay in some way in hopes that they might be rewarded.
Bottom line, Clay had a “Nation” of people working forhim. The fans bought everything Clay was selling, hook, line and sinker. He had the audacity, audience and arrogance to pull it off. He allowed media outlets to promote him as the good Christian mama’s boy who wanted to make the world a better place. Article after article portrayed him this way. He was on the cover of Christian magazines. It was quite a ruse.
The problem is, he was never that guy. There seems tobe enough evidence to make a case for fraud considering the amount of money involved. It’s one thing for people to attribute qualities to a celebrity that are imagined, but quite another thing to do what Clay, and those associated with him, have done. Many became personally involved with the manipulation knowing Clay was not the person they were selling. There are laws in this country to protect consumers from fraud. Claymates who want to rant or threaten the “haters”would be wise to note that many of them have been around from the beginning. They know the players, they know the crime, and they know the truth. There are many Claymates and associates of Clay’s that could be a subpoena away from having to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Of course if they would gladly die for Clay, what’s a little perjury?
