In a recent blog, Clay Aiken referred to the conflict over his sexuality (only he wouldn't DARE say sexuality) that led to the message board being closed at his OFC. This is some of what he had to say about the situation:
Now on to serious matters...With regard to the message board shut down, I apologize for not being more informed.
My initial understanding was that the message boards were becoming somewhat of a breeding ground for negativity and in fighting. I was told they were going to be shut down for a short period of time to try to clean house.
At the time, I just took that information and quite honestly, ignored it. I have always felt it best to let people do their jobs without interfering and micro-managing. So, I let the folks who run the fansite do what they felt was best.
Now, more informed, a shut down may not have been the best thing. I will take responsibility for not being as informed and involved as I should have been, and I will apologize.
With that in mind, I have emailed the "powers that be" and asked them to turn the message boards back on by Monday morning. (Mind you, they are on the west coast.) I don't always get my way, but I will hope that they will listen.
Again, I apologize for not stepping in sooner and asking them not to do the shut down in the first place.I promise you that I will do everything within my power to make sure that, with the exception of scheduled maintenance or an uncontrollable circumstance, the message boards are never shut down for punative reasons again. It isn't fair.
With these statements, Clay flat out says that he had nothing to do with the OFC message board being closed down and was against the idea once he became aware of it.
He tries to imply that he does not have much control over the OFC and that a lot of the decisions there are left to "the powers that be".
Interesting then, that the following was posted in this blog's comments shortly after the shutdown took place:
well...here is the behind the scenes info. It was not possible to post this earlier as it was happening but since the information has been "leaked" beyond those few involved it is okay to share now.
JF was furious at what she saw on the OFC.
Apparently she was the one who blew the whistle over the chaos that enveloped the OFC. It was her advice that the message board be shut down. She also wanted Faiken to specifically address the issue and explain why it was being shut down.
Mama was of the opposite opinion reminding the Faiken that he owes his career to the mats and the ones who protect him the most (over what you can easily conclude) are saving his career. She was adamant that nothing critical be said about any group of fans as that is where the money comes from.
From a business standpoint the OFC is NOT a moneymaker and the headaches that come from it and the now potential damage that will occur in the NE is proving that the venture is not worthwhile.
Faiken knew all of what went on. The claims of being "less informed" and now "more informed" are b.s.
He reads the OFC all the time and it was his decision to close the boards. (TPTB do NOT make the decisions. HE does.) So, the decision to blog appeased JF's demands that something be said directly to the issue but the content of the blog deliberately says nothing and does not single any group out on purpose in order to appease Mama.
The money keeps coming in and those on their crusade all think they have been knighted.
Unfortunately, the grown-ups around the Faiken know this is one more time NOTHING has been handled and will set the stage for another blow up, time frame unknown.
anonymous 06.10.07 - 5:01 pm #
If the above post is to be believed, and it seems credible as Clay is a NOTORIOUS control freak, then Clay has noone but himself to blame for the media blitz that took place today.
It truly was a magnificent shitstorm!
Website after website reported the conflict over Clay's sexuality at the OFC today. Check it out:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06112007/gossip/pagesix/aiken_site_too_hot_to_handle_pagesix_.htm
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20042058,00.html
http://gawker.com/news/gossip-roundup/paris-hilton-cries-out-to-barbara-walters-267658.php
http://www.dlisted.com/node/11126
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2007/06/oh_johnjohn.html
http://www.bestweekever.tv/2007/06/11/while-you-were-crashing-the-hbo-website/
http://www.fadedyouthblog.com/3914/aikens-site-is-too-gay-to-function/
http://www.tothepeople.com/2007/06/around-horn.html
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21285864.shtml
http://www.jossip.com/madonna/jossip-juxtaposition-16-20070611/
http://reluctantwhore.blogspot.com/2007/06/clay-aikens-fan-army-of-obese-middle.html
http://pierceflicks.com/blogthisaway/2007/06/11/22/
http://www.poolparty.com/poolparty/2007/06/war_declared_in.html
http://vh1blog.vh1.com/2007/06/claymates_be_cr.html
http://www.spinner.com/2007/06/11/the-chum-bucket-sopranos-theories-claymates-battle-it-out-r/
http://www.buzztracker.com/permalink/21198/35136255/Theres-Trouble-Brewing-in-the-Claynation
http://www.celebritymound.com/?p=5571
http://www.towleroad.com/2007/06/trouble_in_clay.html
http://popdirt.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=61573
http://socialitelife.com/2007/06/11/theres_trouble_brewing_in_the_claynation.php
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070612/COLUMNISTS18/706120301/1011/SCENE
http://celebrityphotonews.wordpress.com/2007/06/12/clay-aiken-fans-at-odds-over-singer-s-sexuality/
http://chartrigger.blogspot.com/2007/06/music-junkie-digest-shayne-ward-goes-to.html
http://www.rickey.org/?p=3972
http://www.clayaikenposters.com/2007/06/latest-update-clay-aiken-6112007-90009.html
http://vortex.cma.nl.eu.org/Sopranos-Theories
http://www.clayaikenmusicnews.com/battle-of-the-claymates-antimusic/
http://www.laist.com/2007/06/11/gay_bomb_headli.php
http://www.hiifii.com/26641/battle-of-the-gays.html
http://www.celebslam.com/just-like-the-civil-war-only-gayer
http://www.3viso.com/gossip/fans-actually-fighting-over-clay-aiken%E2%80%99s-sexuality/2007/06/12/
http://www.idolstalker.com/is-clay-aiken-gay/
http://www.americanidolworship.com/2007/06/clay-aiken-fans-at-odds-over-singers-sexuality/
http://www.oumph.com/?p=727
http://www.shoutmouth.com/index.php/news/14901
http://aiken.fimbi.com/2007/06/12/barring-the-babes/
http://theblemish.com/2007/06/michelle-trachtenberg-has-a-huge-tongue-and-more/
http://ajcreader.portspaces.com/post/idolblog/612_claymates_get_in_a_scrape.html
http://tastefulsociety.com/2007/06/12/from-a-manson-murder-to-one-worn-out-suit/
http://allwomenstalk.com/michelle-trachtenberg-has-a-huge-tongue-and-more/
http://www.celebrityhack.com/nick-lachey-douchebag-links/
http://colbycarrington.blogspot.com/2007/06/clay-aiken-fans-at-war-over-his.html
http://www.bastardly.com/archives/2007/06/13/a-big-bastardly-happy-birthday-to-ms-pamela-anderson/
NOT BAD FOR ONE DAY!!
It is hard to recall another time in recent memory when Clay has seen so much attention in the media!
Some of these websites even trotted out the notorious web-cam pictures.
http://atlmalcontent.typepad.com/atlmalcontent/2007/06/battle_of_the_c.html
http://eatyournews.blogspot.com/2007/06/there-is-trouble-brewing-in-claynation.html
http://www.wendywayrad.com/2007/06/clay_aiken_fans.html
This could hardly be the reaction Aiken expected from his decision, but it is his own doing.
Well, his and his Claymates.
The Claymates overreaction to a lighthearted reference in a Canadian publication triggered it.
And Clay's duplicity about his sexuality, hell, his duplicity about EVERYTHING, has triggered it all.
Nice going, Mr. Teacher-man Clay!
Oh..and it's spelled "PUNITIVE". You're welcome. ;)
Monday, June 11, 2007
Clay Aiken To OFC: IT WILL BE LOCKED
Clay Aiken: Will The Madness Ever End?
It is four years since Clay Aiken ended his stint on AI2 and became what has become the most manipulative and fraudulent assault on fans in history. Will it ever end? It’s naïve to expect that it will. Why ruin a good thing (for him)?
Most people could not get away with such fraud but Clay’s fans are a different kind of breed. TV evangelists do it all the time but it is quite unprecedented for an entertainer, and the term is used loosely, to accomplish this.
Clay walked away from the show with a challenge to those who took his loss as a personal affront and wanted to right what they felt was an obvious wrong. There was already an Internet presence being fed the party line by friends of Clay so taking it to the next level was easy. Especially with the help of RCA types who assumed the identity of fans, the help of a rabid and opportunistic fan named Fran Skinner Lewis who wanted to take control of the fandom and work her magic for Clay, and let’s not forget Mama and her gang.
Clay and Ruben both profited by the popularity of the show and the sales of their first singles and first CD’s reflected that. Four years later, both are struggling to reach the same height, showing how fickle fame can be. While Ruben took the high road, Clay traveled the low one. The road that required a crew to keep it maintained while an unscrupulous crew manager made unreasonable and unprecedented demands.
Clay doesn’t have much support left. Sooner or later people on the crew grew weary of being treated poorly and they walked away. Of course, most of Clay’s fans left because his talent did not live up to the hype. But others left when it was clear that he was selling a false image and doing whatever he could to reach the most lonely and desperate types, the ones who would go to battle for him.
To this day Clay is still playing the same games. His recent blogs are proof positive that the guy has no intention of ever being honest with his fans. Manipulation is first nature to him now, fueled by the desperation of losing what remains of his career.
There are certain types who want to believe that Clay is changing. They take words that he did not write and interpret them as something else. Clay makes fools of them every step of the way but their pride will not let them believe it. Whether it is Clay or someone working on his behalf, it is clear that Clay hates these types most of all. It amuses him to no end to exercise mind control over the people who once tried to destroy him. They fell short because they wanted Clay to love them; the easiest marks for Clay.
There is nothing keeping Clay from coming out but greed. He can come out if he wants to, it’s a simple thing. With is current blog he has pushed himself so deep into the closet he may never find his way out. He wants it this way.
Clay’s sexual orientation is at the core of his manipulation because he knows his fans will fight (with money) to the death to defend his heterosexuality. It inspires them more than anything else. Clay is a liar and a fraud, a poor excuse for a human being. The fact that he is gay should not matter but he makes it matter by using it to keep his fans engaged.
It would be great if the media would do an expose’ on Clay and the fandom because it really is a story that needs to be told. It’s far more entertaining than how many days Paris Hilton will remain behind bars.