# Don't Ask Don't Sing: Gay Clay and the Green Beret **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 28, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941 "2006-01-28T02:05:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/1 "2006-01-28T02:05:25Z")
_The singing nerd boy from AI The one said he don’t like guys may just turn out to have the Gay™ and he caught it from… the Green Beret._ Whatever its truth value it’s gonna be in the news lots and lots and lots for the next few days. Clay Aiken is the subject of a [tabloid story](http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2006/01/mans_rakin_in_b.html) that he had unprotected sex with a 38 year old Green Beret named John Paulus (who says he has received death threatens from Claymates and that he has… ahem… irrefutable evidence [ala Lewinsky]). If true, Paulus deserves an ass whoopin’ for promising to not talk and then selling the story to tabloids. OTOH, Clay has some ‘splainin’ to do as well. If not true, I think the tabloid will soon be known as _Clay’s Enquirer_. Either way, money and thin and all I’m glad I’m not Clay Aiken at this particular moment. (The link above is to a blog, but you can google the story yourself- it’s all over the I’net already.) ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/2 "2006-01-28T03:03:23Z")
I saw that earlier. All I have to say is that this is surprising NOBODY but Claymates and ewww to the washcloth! 😃 When I read the DNA bit, I started to think about a new version of “Jurrassic Park”, with giant Clays running around, totally in denial, terrorizing Branson MO. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/3 "2006-01-28T03:36:34Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Clay Aiken is the subject of a [tabloid story](http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2006/01/mans_rakin_in_b.html) that he had unprotected sex with a 38 year old Green Beret named John Paulus (who says he has received death threatens from Claymates and that he has… ahem… irrefutable evidence [ala Lewinsky]). “Claymates” are threatening the life of a _Green Beret?_ I’d like to see them try. They’d get their asses handed to them. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/4 "2006-01-28T03:59:21Z")
This to me, isn’t hardly as much fun as all those [82nd Airborne guys](http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/01/27/army.gayporn.ap/) doing the gay porn thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/5 "2006-01-28T04:05:58Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > This to me, isn’t hardly as much fun as all those [82nd Airborne guys](http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/01/27/army.gayporn.ap/) doing the gay porn thing. Those are some hot damned movies too, let me tell you (_Active Duty_ is the name of the studio). Not that I’ve seen them of course. But I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/6 "2006-01-28T04:20:54Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > But I’ve heard. I’ll be in my bunk. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/7 "2006-01-28T15:02:47Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > OTOH, Clay has some ‘splainin’ to do as well. Why? What business is it of yours or anyone elses? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/8 "2006-01-28T15:20:17Z")
Clay Aiken? Claymates? Has this got something to do with Gumby? ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/9 "2006-01-28T16:07:45Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Why? What business is it of yours or anyone elses? People usually only take notice when a public figure swears up down and sideways that they aren’t gay, no way, Jose. Then, oh looky! Gay Clay! If they weren’t so vocal in their denials, no one would care. Kid brought it on himself. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/10 "2006-01-28T16:35:04Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > Clay Aiken? Claymates? Has this got something to do with Gumby? Only around women, apparently. Around Green Berets he’s a Pokey. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/11 "2006-01-28T16:49:28Z")
Has Aiken ever publicly, point-blank denied being gay? I thought it was something he always just refused to comment on. I also assumed that everybody knew he was gay. I didn’t realize he still had so many fans in denial about it. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/12 "2006-01-28T17:12:26Z")
Death threats from Claymates, eh? Doesn’t that make them Claymores? ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/13 "2006-01-28T17:35:15Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Has Aiken ever publicly, point-blank denied being gay? I thought it was something he always just refused to comment on. I also assumed that everybody knew he was gay. I didn’t realize he still had so many fans in denial about it. Middle American housewives are great at willful ignorance. Poor guy may be the new Liberace. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/14 "2006-01-28T17:56:44Z")
Has anyone asked him if he is gay? Seems a little unfair to him. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/15 "2006-01-28T18:12:56Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > People usually only take notice when a public figure swears up down and sideways that they aren’t gay, no way, Jose. Then, oh looky! Gay Clay! > > If they weren’t so vocal in their denials, no one would care. Kid brought it on himself. That’s crap. It was the public with their speculation and the media with their rude probing into his personal business who brought it on. He has, for the most part, steadfastly refused to entertain the question, and if and when he has, he’s only mildly brushed it off as untrue. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Has Aiken ever publicly, point-blank denied being gay? I thought it was something he always just refused to comment on. I also assumed that everybody knew he was gay. I didn’t realize he still had so many fans in denial about it. It’s not about being in denial, it’s about taking the man at his word. Geek /= Gay. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/16 "2006-01-28T18:16:12Z")
Oh gosh and golly! A person who chose to become a celebrity has lost some privacy! Oh, the horror! Oh, the humanity! Oh, please. Attention psuedo-celebs- If you can’t take the speculation about yourself, go back to your day job where nobody cares. I want to be famous but I want to be left alone? Mutually exclusive, I’m afraid. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/17 "2006-01-28T19:26:36Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Only around women, apparently. Around Green Berets he’s a Pokey. This is officially the first post in a long time to make me literally spew Coke. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Has Aiken ever publicly, point-blank denied being gay? I thought it was something he always just refused to comment on. Yes, he has. Repeatedly. In a _Rolling Stone_ interview, an episode of _The Tonight Show_ and a London interview among others. To his credit he’s never made anti-gay comments and said basically he takes the gay rumors in stride (he even made jokes about them on SNL), but he has stated it as an assertive negative. Of course, Clay grew up in a dysfunctional family (it’s why he dropped his biological father’s surname) and in the southern Baptist church (where he did his first public singing). It’s not totally inconceivable he didn’t realize he _was_ gay until he had more exposure. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/18 "2006-01-28T19:32:29Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > “Claymates” are threatening the life of a _Green Beret?_ > > I’d like to see them try. Hmm. Special Forces vs. Special Education… Yeah, I think I might have to go with the Army guy in that fight. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/19 "2006-01-28T19:43:42Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Of course, Clay grew up in a dysfunctional family (it’s why he dropped his biological father’s surname) and in the southern Baptist church (where he did his first public singing). It’s not totally inconceivable he didn’t realize he _was_ gay until he had more exposure. I should perhaps elaborate a tad more for those not familiar with the extremely conservative Southern Protestant culture: It’s very possible Clay grew up being taught that there’s no such thing as a gay Christian, that gays are people who want to dress in women’s clothing and molest children, gay men think every gay guy is sexy (doesn’t matter if he’s 20 and hot or 60 and fat) etc… I’m a decade older than Clay but I heard all these growing up and it really did delay my Eureka moment (though I had least was suspicioning as a teen). Since Clay grew up in a more conservative and religious home than I did, it’s really not inconceivable that he thought even in his early 20s “well, I don’t want to molest boys or have sex with Grandpa Jones or dress like Dolly Parton, I just want to meet a nice Green Beret in a QUALITY INN” meant he wasn’t gay. Though now, of course, after two years in the entertainment business, I can pretty well guarantee he’s clocked it. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941/20 "2006-01-28T19:49:18Z")
Not to hijack this thread but how the heck do you not realize that you are gay? Put another way, don’t you sort of get an indication that something is up when you don’t find women attractive? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ask-dont-sing-gay-clay-and-the-green-beret/341941.md?page=2)