Clay is gay: Aiken comes out of the closet

Raleigh, N.C. — After years of rumors swirling about his sexuality, Raleigh native Clay Aiken is confirming that he is gay.

The cover of the upcoming issue of People magazine shows Aiken holding his infant son, Parker Foster Aiken, with the headline: "Yes, I'm Gay."

Parker was conceived via in vitro fertilization with Aiken’s best friend Jaymes Foster, according to People. Foster gave birth to Parker on Aug. 8 at a North Carolina hospital.

The magazine has an interview with Aiken, 29, and confirmed Tuesday that he was on the cover. An excerpt of the article was released Wednesday morning on People.com.

"It was the first decision I made as a father," Aiken told the magazine. "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."

He also recalls how he told his mother, Faye, the news.

"I started crying in the car," he told the magazine. "It was dark. I was sitting there, thinking to myself. I don't know why I started thinking about it ... I just started bawling. She made me pull over the car and it just came out."

Aiken, who gained fame as the runner-up on Fox's "American Idol" in 2003, rarely addressed the frequent rumors about his sexuality.

In an interview with The Associated Press two years ago, he said: "I don't really feel like I have anybody to answer to but myself and God and the people I love."

The multi-platinum singer recently released the CD "On My Way Here" and made his Broadway debut this spring as "Sir Robin" in "Monty Python's Spamalot."

During his "American Idol" run, Aiken gained a legion of fans who refer to themselves as "Claymates."