The " American Idol " alum was joined by his son Parker Foster Aiken, 15, in the latter's television debut on " Celebrity Family Feud ," which aired Tuesday.
Along with Clay Aiken's mother and brother, he was also joined by Jaymes Foster, Parker's mother and Clay Aiken's best friend. The family went head-to-head against David Foster and Katharine McPhee 's family in the hit "Family Feud" spin-off show hosted by Steve Harvey.
The families are connected as well, as Jaymes Foster is David Foster's sister and David Foster has executive produced three of Aiken's albums.
Parker Aiken, Clay Aiken's son, on Celebrity Family Feud. Eric McCandless, Disney
Parker got in a few clever answers, including clinching the win on the question, "Name a famous Tom that a girl would love to go to the prom with" by suggesting Tom Holland despite Harvey's skepticism. Aiken's family eventually took the win for their charity, the National Inclusion Project.
Aiken first came to fame on Season 2 of "American Idol" and, like McPhee on Season 5, was runner-up. Aiken's season was won by Ruben Studdard, while McPhee's season was won by Taylor Hicks.
Aiken first announced the birth of his son on his blog in 2008. "My dear friend, Jaymes, and I are so excited to announce the birth of Parker Foster Aiken," he wrote at the time. Soon after, Aiken came out as gay in a People magazine profile.
Aiken has been open about how coming out so publicly has affected him. He told Rolling Stone , in a June investigation into allegations of LGBTQ discrimination against "American Idol," that he credits the show for introducing him to his first boyfriend and giving him room to figure things out.
Brett Parker, Jaymes Foster, Parker Aiken, Faye Parker and Clay Aiken on Celebrity Family Feud. Eric McCandless, Disney
"If I had not done 'Idol,' I don’t even want to claim that I would not have come out," he said. "I hope to God that I would have, but I certainly would not have found that on my own for many, many more years."
He also reflected on the years-long obsession over his sexuality before coming out.
"I never did an interview where somebody was not trying to ask me if I was gay," he said. Verification of his sexual orientation "was the only thing that anybody in the press wanted."
The fixation was everywhere, especially with comedians, he said.
"If I heard anybody setting up a gay joke on a sitcom or a late-night show, I held my breath because I knew my name was coming," he said. "Eighty percent of the time I was right."
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0