Every once in a while you read something that just makes you cringe and say, Oh come on!
This is one of those stories.

Apparently, Simon Cowell has written a letter, excuse me… a VERY LONNNNNNG letter to his younger self and it was published in the Daily Mail. I didn’t read all of it, because #1…. I have a life, and #2… it was just making me cringe so much I was getting a crick in my neck. And also one of my pet peeves is someone talking in the third person.

First off, who does this? 
Or if you are so silly to do so, do you have it published so everyone can say EWWWWW and think you are a total douche? Really, can Simon be any more full of himself?

Simon must have started at a very early age. The picture below is probably how Simon started out.

Simon Give Us Kiss Now.. You Handsome Dog!

He wrote this letter to himself because his 50th birthday is right around the corner on Oct 7th. I was speechless as I skimmed over the letter and just couldn’t believe what I was reading. We couldn’t post the whole letter here because it was beyond HUGE.

It’s best to read the entire letter yourself on the Daily Mail website.
The letter was entitled, “SIMON COWELL: A letter to my shallow, reckless, cocky younger self“.
I kid you not. Oh! Be sure to have a bucket handy. Click here and gag.

Eonline reported:

Simon Cowell’s Gone Soft (and Long-Winded) in His Old Age

Someone needs to pull the pen from Simon Cowell’s fingers.
While we love it when the crotchety American Idol judge decides to air his dirty laundry in public (that Susan Boyle botch list was a classic), is an absurdly lengthy diatribe really necessary?

On the cusp of his 50th birthday next week, Cowell wrote a letter to himself published in yesterday’s Daily Mail in the U.K. In it, he looks back on the past few decades, scolding himself for poor decisions he made in the ’80s and ’90s and patting himself on the back for the good ones.

It would be a good, self-deprecating, third-person about-face, but regardless of what he says, nearly 3,500 words makes for nothing but a puff (as in puff, the magic ego) piece.

“You are on a roll and you think the good times will last forever but, oh dear, Simon. You are so, so wrong,” he writes to the 1980s version of himself. “You look like a complete idiot…you are overconfident, far too cocky and dressed from head to toe in expensive designer gear…It hasn’t dawned on you yet, you idiot, that you can’t afford any of this stuff.”

Of course, Mr. Tight T-shirts takes it easy on himself for the final 1,000 words or so.

“I must say, despite everything, I’m quite proud of you, Simon,” he says. “You’re happy, you’re content and just incredibly grateful for where you are.”

Then he goes on to list what’s changed for him over the years—really important things like what he drinks and snacks on and how he doesn’t like to bum $5 from anyone. He pats himself on the back for never marrying because he’s such a workaholic, and for staying friends with his exes.

“Your job, Simon, was to make celebrities, not to become one yourself, dear boy,” he says. “Underneath it all, Simon, you are a realist. You don’t believe the hype about yourself. You can see what you do well and what you do badly. People think you are this Machiavellian character, forever plotting and scheming.”

He ends his diatribe as Hallmark would have intended—”So happy birthday! Love Simon”—although we’d hate to see the card size needed to print this self-loving loathing opus.

“Happy Birthday LOVE Simon“? I think I just threw up a little.

The definition for narcissism is as follows:

1. Excessive love or admiration of oneself.
2. Psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem.
3. Erotic pleasure derived from contemplation or admiration of one’s own body or self, especially as a fixation on or a regression to an infantile stage of development.
4. The attribute of the human psyche characterized by admiration of oneself but within normal limits

Well I am not sure if #3 applies to Simon, but it would not surprise me one iota!

His letter did remind me of a little poem from my grammar school days when people used to sign your autograph book when you graduated. The all so familiar ”roses are red” rhymes and those little clever ditties like “2 great, 2B, 4 gotten”.

No it wasn’t the “roses are red, violets are black, go sit on a tack“ rhyme that came to mind. (although it certainly would apply)

It was the following little poem, which I would like to dedicate to Simon on his upcoming 50th birthday….

You love yourself you think your grand..
You go to the movies and hold your hand.
You slip your arm around your waist…
And when you get fresh.. you slap your face!

With new reports of Cowell doing American Idol for another two years and also producing “The X Factor” in the US, he will be making over 100 million by this time next year. *shakes head*

It is quite obvious that he can care less that this letter to himself makes him look like a total conceited, pompous ass. Or maybe that is exactly what he wanted. His popularity seems to stay afloat by people loving to hate him.

Oh crap, I think I just contributed to that!
Touche’ Cowell!

Rocking It Out With Barack

Everyone knows how much Ellen DeGeneres loves to rock out and dance with her DJ Tony Okungbowa in the beginning of all her shows. But recently, Telepictures Productions was slapped with a lawsuit for using unlicensed songs.

Ellen has been dancing to songs during her show intro for years. I wonder why this lawsuit showed up now? Seems like something the record companies would have caught a long time ago. Maybe they are just hurting by the almighty crush of the internet and can use some cash. Remember that song back in 1979, Video Killed The Radio Star by the Buggles? Well the record companies must be singing, “The internet killed the record companies.”

Eonline reported:

Not everything can go Ellen DeGeneres’ way all the time.

It turns out that several major record companies think the dance-happy host rocks out a little too much and are suing Telepictures Productions over the unlicensed use of more than 1,000 songs on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

You know how Ellen and in-house DJ Tony Okungbowa love their block-rockin’ beats. Per the suit, reps for Ellen said they don’t “roll that way” when the labels asked why they had not licensed the tunes.

But Telepictures doesn’t appear to be sweatin’ the copyright-infringement suit, telling reporters they have already been working with the plaintiffs to resolve their issues on “amicable and reasonable terms.”

The complaint, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Nashville, does not name DeGeneres as a defendant. (Though theoretically this means she’s been dancing to the beat of somebody else’s drum all this time.)

Well I guess Telepictures isn’t worried, and I would imagine they have enough dough to make the record companies who filed the suits very happy.

Besides Ellen has bigger fish to fry these days. It was just announced that Ellen will be replacing Paula Abdul as the fourth judge on American Idol. Apparently, she is elated about being asked to join the panel, and said that she is not going to be mean like Simon Cowell, but rather will let him know when he is being too mean to contestants.

Sorry, I just have to say this. I don’t understand why Ellen was picked for judging American Idol besides her obvious love for music. It seems like everyone on the panel has had something to do with the music industry in their past and seems a little bit more savvy when it comes to judging?

Don’t get me wrong, I like Ellen. She has never bothered me, and I have always admired her courage — just wish she would talk to her Scientology buddies about leaving the cult) 

And as far as Idol goes…Randy what’s up dog? Jackson has always rubbed me the wrong way and I can’t stand Simon Cowell or the entire American Idol mania.

And remind me why Ryan Seacrest is famous again?

However, I have to give Paula Abdul kudos for her hits in her early 80’s singing career, (Opposites Attract, and Straight Up Now Tell Me) but sadly, he has become kind of ditzy over the years. Sorry Paula. 

Maybe Ellen will bring a sense of freshness and honesty to the show that they so desperately need. It seems that the panel has become bored out of their minds and less and less tolerant of contestants and it has become no secret that this show is steep with ”ringers” that are not the average joes off the street trying to make the rags to riches story become a reality. Even though Randy Jackson and Simon have been quoted as saying:

“Let’s sign them.” We’re out to find the best undiscovered [talent] and really herald that.”

Undiscovered talent?  HA!

There are handfuls of ringer contestants placed on this show which 
are actual struggling artists. Music executives are the ones deciding who should be the next star by marketing them on Idol. It doesn’t mean that these struggling artists don’t deserve a chance at stardom, but it makes the whole Idol contest process snarky and very deceptive.

Take David Archuleta for instance. At age 12 he won Star Search. During Idol’s first season, he met with finalists and sang for Kelly Clarkson and then within days it was arranged for him to be on the show.

Archuleta is only one example. There are MANY more ringers that have appeared on Idol who had previous talent, agents, careers, and gigs etc… Click here and feel silly for believing all the hype that surrounds Idol and their ability of actually finding undiscovered talent.

The truth is, that the days of Idol finding a total nobody off the street and having them make it big doesn’t exist any more. Which is why I wished this show was over long ago. It’s just not what it pretends to be. I think Paula Abdul got out just in time. I am waiting for her to write a tell-all book about Idol which would finally send Simon packing. *that would be totally dee-lish!*

American Idol will be starting up fresh this January with a brand new face on their panel. I doubt if Ellen is privy to all the ringers on the show. Why would they tell her? And if they did, would she agree with it? I would like to think she wouldn’t.

Again it’s not that these struggling artists don’t deserve a chance at making it big, or should I say bigger…. it  just seems wrong to promote the show as finding undiscovered talent. It is also sad for the other contestants, as it gives them even less of  a chance of making it in to the finals.

As quoted by Vote for the Worst  back in January of 2008:

So were the auditions just a formality this year? Because we’re fairly sure that if you have a Grammy winning duet with Alicia Keys, a band that opened for Britney Spears, or a prior relationship in show business, you probably weren’t waiting in line like the rest of the people who mistakenly assumed American Idol was a competition to find “the best undiscovered talent in America”. Then again, we all know what happens when you assume.

Count me out as far as tuning in to this “struggling artist ringer showcase”. Sorry Ellen, but at the very least, I hope you have a lot of fun on Idol cheering on the next pre-picked ringer!

American Idol contestant Alexis Cohen who was known for her infamous rant and bird flipping exit after her Idol audition, was struck and killed by a drunk driver this past weekend.

Twenty three year old Daniel Bark was charged with reckless driving and leaving the scene of a collision and the judge also charged him with aggravated manslaughter, death by auto and eluding. He is currently in the Ocean County jail in NJ and his bond was set at $185,000.

Cohen was struck early Saturday morning in Seaside Heights and was found at 4 am. Cohen was pronounced dead at the scene and the autopsy report showed she suffered chest, head and abdominal injuries.

US Magazine reported Barks lawyer:

“He’s having an extremely difficult time mentally coming to terms with the fact that there’s an allegation that he caused a death. My client is in a state of mind where he is going to be under suicide watch.”

Alexis Cohen was a feisty gal, and full of life, and had a go for it attitude. She auditioned for the seventh and eighth season of Idol. She showed up for her audition, belted her song out and left in a blaze of glory, and wasn’t afraid to tell snot-nosed Simon Cowell how she felt, and I am glad she did. Someone needs to bitch slap that boy every once in a while. You can watch her famous exit on the above YouTube video.

It saddened me when I watched her background story and her audition on American Idol. She lived in a ONE ROOM apartment with her Mom and they were extremely close. They didn’t have much, but they had each other. Her Mom must be beside herself with grief. Although Alexis never reached her dream of becoming a star, I am sure in her Mother’s eye she will always be her star. RIP Alexis.

Beyond boring Ryan Seacrest and tabloid party girl Lindsay Lohan were seen together out in Hollywood recently.
WHY? They were supposedly brain storming about a new reality show they want to do together. Nope! You can’t make this crap up.

First off…. Ryan Seacrest? Why is he famous again?
And Lohan? Her life has been one big hot mess.
The two together? A boring and bigger hot mess.

Their show’s premise (if it ever comes to light) is to have contestants who are down and out on their luck, compete for a second chance at life and to win a million dollars.
US Magazine describes contestants as, “people that got on the wrong side of the track”.

The most deserving contestant will be picked by a panel of judges. And yep! you guessed it, Lohan is slated to be one of the judges. This show sounds as degrading as the 1950’s show, Queen For A Day.
Four women were picked from the audience. These women had to convince the audience that they were the most pathetic. The audience would applaud and whomever scored highest on the applause-o-meter would win. And get a crown and roses. Natch.

Of course they didn’t win a million dollars back then. But they did win a butt load of prizes, which was not too shabby for being back in the 1950’s. It was one of the most depressing shows I ever saw. Watch this YouTube clip from the show, and you will see what I mean.
Queen for a Day  lasted from 1956 all the way till 1970, so maybe Seacrest is on to something?
Perhaps Bernie Madoff’s ex clients victims will be lining up for a shot of recouping some of their cash?

What I find to be more ironic then the show’s premise, is that they would have Lohan, the Queen of Fail as a judge.
After all, she is not a stranger to the tabloids to say the least.  In the past she has spent a night in jail, done community service for her DUI, and has been in rehab three times. From drunken/coke  binges, to the cops being called to her house with a suspicion of an illegal entry to her home, only to find that her place was such a disgusting mess, that the cops had to call her in Paris and ask her, “Is it normally like this, or did intruders do it?”

Lovely Lohan Resting Her Eyes *snicker*

If Lohan is going to be a judge, it would be as ridiculous as Scientology having a show about helping people. I can see it now… Everyone pick up your e-meters! The first person who makes the e-meter needle float wins! You don’t win any money, you have to pay Scientology the million dollars. Fun right?

I digress. So is Lohan the one getting the “second chance” here on this show rather than the contestants? *snicker*
 Not that I would begrudge any of the contestants winning a million dollars to get a second chance, (I am going to apply myself), but can you see the  headlines from the backlash from this show down the road?
Contestant wins a million dollars on reality show for a second chance, and here they are on their way to pick up their check in their Caddy Escalade,  which they  owned before winning the show. Looks like Seacrest and Lohan did a woops on the contestant background checks!

Us Magazine reports:

Ryan Seacrest and Lindsay Lohanwere spotted out together in Hollywood Thursday night, but it turns out that their meetup was strictly business.

“Met with Lindsay last night about a show idea I have for her…it helps people and gives others a second shot!” Ryan wrote on his Twitter page on Friday, one day after he and the actress went to H.Wood in L.A. “Still putting it all together.”

The American Idol host is no stranger to producing. In addition to his radio hosting gig, the star has lent his TV production talents to E!’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians as well as Brody Jenner MTV show, Bromance.

Lohan also mentioned details of the project on her Twitter page Friday.

“Working on a really great project for television — I am excited!” she wrote. “Something meaningful like Extreme Home Makeover on ABC… ”
According to TMZ.com, the premise of the potential series is that real people who are on the wrong track and looking for a second chance are given $1 million to make it happen. Lohan, no stranger to the concept, would likely serve on a panel of judges who hear contestants’ stories.

Back in 2006, Lohan once told Matt Lauer of the Today Show, that “she’s the hardest working person she knows”
Uh ok Lindsey.. that is probably true in her circle of friends and family, but not in the real world. I guess she doesn’t know any doctors,teachers,or volunteers. A ridiculous statement from a delusional ditz.
How will she ever be able to fit this show in with her busy schedule? *snicker*. After years of her screw ups and bad press, I would think that Hollywood still considers Lohan in the high risk category, even though she supposedly cleaned up her act and is on the mend.
But I guess Seacrest is willing to take that chance.
Besides…..what the hell does he have to lose anyways? He is a gazillionaire.
He was coined the Sixty Million Dollar Man on Extra, when they reported he had landed a gig on a national Fresno radio show back in 2008.

But being a gazillionaire does not help the fact that he is as boring as watching paint peel, besides being a complete and utter dork. He bombed hosting the Emmy’s back in 2007. And back in 2006, he was included in the Guess Who Sucks? vid on  Heavy.com. The vid is worth the watch, and it also includes Lohan and some great digs on TomKat when they were first pregnant with Suri.

But really, and this bares repeating….WHY IS SEACREST FAMOUS?
It boggles my mind.
Sorry, but I am SO sick of  Seacrest and Lohan. I guess we will have to wait and see how everybody else weighs in on this reality show, if it ever becomes a reality.
So with Lohan’s past reputation and Seacrest’s boredom,  AND the obvious lack of talent…I give this show an EPIC FAIL rating on the applause-o-meter.

FAIL

Although America may totally disagree. I am always surprised by what some people watch on TV.
I am guilty of tuning into a few guilty pleasure shows myself, but a show with Lohan as a judge for a remake of King Or Queen for the day? Sorry…… I will be martinizing my couch that night.

Susan Boyle must be feeling the pressure of her new found fame and if you aren’t sure who Susan Boyle is, then may I suggest you crawl back into the cave you must be living in!

The mayhem started when two tabloid reporters taunted her at the Wembley Plaza Hotel in London and that really got her Scottish ire up. Boyle was seen in tears and swearing her head off. The poor gal has been through a whirlwind of emotions lately, having gone from virtual nobody to instant celebrity. As with all reality stars, Susan had a very publicized make over after appearing on Britain’s Got Talent, and became an overnight sensation.

It must be quite an ordeal to have non-stop media in your face 24/7, especially compared to her previously humble lifestyle. But as Susan has quickly found out, it goes with the territory.

Supposedly Susan was sadly taunted as a child, so perhaps it all came wheeling back to her in that moment. Initially, when I heard the reports of her outburst, I snickered and thought good for her, and perhaps they deserved Susan’s tongue lashing, but unfortunately it didn’t go over so well in the showbiz arena. And, not surprisingly, it got the TV producer’s knickers in quite a bunch.

So Ms. Boyle was put in damage control mode for the sake of her continued quest for fame and was admitted to the hospital for some much needed rest as she was, as they like to call in Hollywood, “suffering from exhaustion.”

The Irish Centralwrote:

The day before the final of “Britain’s Got Talent,” Susan Boyle has been whisked away to a hideout amidst fears the singing sensation is cracking under the pressure of her sudden fame.

British tabloid The Sun reports that the Scottish singer, whose mother was born in Ireland, was driven away from the Wembley Plaza Hotel in London, the site where she was spotted breaking down in tears after being harangued by a tabloid reporter.

The latest in the Susan saga is that the reality TV star, 48, sweared at police officers as they interviewed her about strangers that were harassing her.

The Sun says that Boyle, whose performance of “Les Miserable’s” “I Dreamed a Dream” received millions of hits on You Tube is alarming “Britain’s Got Talent” bosses with her erratic behavior, and they fear she may be suffering a mental breakdown.

Reportedly, the formerly reclusive singer threatened to quit the show due to the pressures of her sudden fame, but TV bosses persuaded her to stay.

In his blog, “Britain’s Got Talent” judge Piers Morgan said: “Susan is finding it very difficult to cope, and to stay calm. She has been in tears many times during the last few days, and even felt like quitting altogether and fleeing all the attention.

“She was actually going to leave the show, packed her bags to go because she couldn’t see the point in going on.”

Earlier, Boyle was seen at the Wembley Plaza Hotel bar screaming “f*** off” at the TV as she watched Morgan tell “Britain’s Got Talent” contestant Shaheen Jafargholi, 12, he had given the “best singing performance so far.”

This unstable behavior is atypical for the usually cheerful Scottish woman. Morgan wrote: “Susan Boyle is a very kind, generous-hearted, lady who has had a pretty tough life. But she’s always, according to people who knew her well, been a fun-loving woman who would do anything to help others.

“I’m not saying she’s a saint. But I am saying that before all this fuss, Susan was generally considered to be a genuinely lovely person – albeit, one with a lively, feisty character, and a wonderfully eccentric sense of humor.”

If Boyle doesn’t pull her act together, TV producers may ax her from tomorrow’s show.

Her brother John told The Sun: “Celebrities have professional people who insulate them from these stresses but she hasn’t had this protection. The shows producers should have been looking after her more.”

Well I am not into this whole American Idol or Britain’s Got Talent mania, but I wish Susan the best and hope she can cope with her new found stardom. But be careful Susan, celebreality can be very fleeting…just ask William Hung.

Who can forget his Ricky Martin rendition of “She Bangs” on American Idol? I know I would like to.

I still can’t believe this man made three albums and even a few commercials for Ask Jeeves.

I can’t believe he was ever famous to begin with. It certainly was a fluke and kinda pissed me off, when you consider all the far MORE talented people out there who have been passed by. Hopefully Hung will go back to his civil engineering classes at UC Berkeley.

Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not comparing the REAL talent of Susan Boyle to William Hung’s NON-talent. It’s just that populatity can be very fickle, and at any given moment, another Vanilla Ice can be born. Word To Your Mother!

We just watched the American Idol Season Finale and by now everyone knows sweet little Kris Allen won Season 8, beating the infinitely more talented Adam Lambert, once again proving that AI is a friggin’ popularity contest, not a talent contest.

While Kris is plenty talented, cute and likable, he’s not even in the same universe as good a singer as Adam Lambert, but sadly, because Adam is gay and not afraid to show it, I think in the end it hurt him, as much as Carrie Prejean’s ignorant comments at the Miss USA pageant hurt her.

Just like in politics, Americans refuse to let the pendulum swing too far one way or the other, so while on one spectrum Prejean must suffer the wrath of her ignorance, Adam Lambert is forced to suffer the wrath of America’s ignorance.

The silver lining to all of this is of course, Adam will still have a tremendous career and might even be better off not having that notoriously fickle “Idol Winner” reputation dogging him. I give both he and Kris credit for handling the results with total class and I wish them both well.

America, gay people contribute to every facet of society in ways that are incalculable and enrich our lives immensely, they aren’t going away and marginalizing an entire group of people based on archaic and backwards perceptions is about as pathetic as it gets. They’re here, they’re queer, they can sing better, get used to it.

Fellow blogger and celebrity biographer Ian Halperin will be hosting a live chat tonight with American Idol star and media sensation Sanjaya Malakar.

Malakar, who has a new memoir out, Dancing To The Music In My Head: Memoirs of the People’s Idol, will be talking questions and chatting with fans at 9:00pm EST, with Ian Halperin on his blog www.ianundercover.com.

To participate in the chat, click here.

If I get a chance to ask Sanjaya a question, it will be what hair products does he use. Seriously, dude has the lovely locks on the planet.

Paula Goodspeed Dies
by TVGrapevine

Last week, a mentally disturbed fan of Paula Abdul, who had crossed the boundary between fan and star more than once (twice this year involving the police and disturbing the peace), committed suicide not far from Paula’s home:

Paula Goodspeed, 30, who auditioned in front of the show’s three judges in 2006, was found dead on Tuesday just outside of Paula Abdul’s home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. Police said the death was an apparent suicide by drug overdose, and Goodspeed—who was allegedly stalking Abdul—had a photo of the “Idol” star in her car, along with some of Paula’s CDs and a license plate that read “ABL LV”–”Abdul Love.” On her MySpace page, she admitted that Paula was “My Secret Crush shhhhh!!” Goodspeed sent Paula flowers the day before her death (the note: “Hope you’re doing great. Here’s my new cell phone number”) and apparently her real name wasn’t even Paula. People Magazine reports that it was Sandra, and Goodspeed changed it so she could be more like the “Idol” judge.

I had dispensed with the juggernaut known as AI by the time this woman auditioned, but I watched the video of it online, and it was disturbing at best:

She went before the judges in 2006 dressed in pink from head to toe. She proclaimed her love for Paula, without a trace of irony. “I really like Paula Abdul a lot,” she said. “She’s really cool. I’m a really big fan.” Goodspeed even wasn’t embarrassed to confess that she’d been drawing life-sized pictures of Paula ever since she was a kid, which the producers, of course, went on to show us. If she was a bad artist, she was an even worse singer. The judges cringed as she performed a screechy rendition of “Proud Mary.” “I don’t think any artist in the world can sing with that much metal in their mouth,” Simon said, in reference to her braces. When Goodspeed was booted off the show, she immediately attacked. “I was pitchy on a couple notes, big f—ing deal. There’s a lot of people they send to Hollywood who can’t really hold a note,” she said. And then she said cryptically: “It’s not over.” The line seems eerie now, but Godspeed seemingly got what she wanted: fame, and the attention of Abdul, who released a statement about her death. “I am deeply shocked and saddened by what transpired,” said Paula.

If you’ve watched any AI at all, you know that before the season really gets started, they have a few weeks of episodes devoted to the auditions.  Needless to say, they can be quite eyeopening and somewhat life-affirming (you tend to think, “Hey, I may be bad, but at least I’m not that bad!”).

And I admit that I watched AI for a couple of seasons (Ruben and Fantasia), but I finally had enough.  I think the audition tapes did it for me…it just felt wrong to be sitting in my comfortable living room watching people on my TV who were just on there because they were Just. That. Bad.  Very few are chosen because they are the Next Big Thing, but because they are Today’s Worst Thing…Until Somebody Worse Comes Along In The Next Five Minutes.  And this happens on a national–some might even argue world-wide–level.  I mean, which of us wants to be ridiculed by the world at large just because we sang off-key?  Full-time celebs realize that snark is part of the game, and that any press coverage is good press coverage, but these are just your average Joe and Jane who think they possibly have a shot at the big time and who find it hard to just go back:

Goodspeed kept her head held high as she left. “It’s not over,” she told the producers. “I’m not going to stop singing just because you don’t like my voice.”

A month after her episode aired, Goodspeed revealed her pain in a MySpace blog.

“It’s very hard reading such awful things being written about yourself … or hearing things being said,” she wrote.

So, have we as a public encouraged this behavior?  Is this sort of thing akin to pointing and laughing at the “weird” kid in school?  In my opinion, there are arguments to be made both ways.

But wait, there’s more…

I’m wearing my so NOT surprised face.

It seems that AI runner-up Clay Aiken, in a story hitting the news today via People magazine, is set to admit what pretty much everyone and their dog have known for a long time now:

 Following the Aug. 8 birth of his son Parker, singer Clay Aiken is following through on a promise he made to himself as a new dad: to publicly acknowledge that he’s gay.

“It was the first decision I made as a father,” Aiken, 29, tells the upcoming issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday. “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.”

Aiken says he expects the news may overwhelm some of his fans. “Whether it be having a child out of wedlock, or whether it be simply being a homosexual, it’s going to be a lot,” said Aiken, who returned to Broadway last week as Sir Robin in Monty Python’s Spamalot.

He adds that he hopes his fans “know that I’ve never intended to lie to anybody at all. … But if they leave, I don’t want them to leave hating me.”

That explosion you just heard was every Claymate’s head simultaneously exploding.  Twice.

According to “sources”, American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken’s boys do work, and he’s gonna be a daddy.  Oh, and the mom?  A 50-year-old record producer friend of Clay’s:

Here’s what we know. Multiple sources tell us the mother is Jaymes Foster, a record producer and Clay’s best friend. He lives at her home when he’s in L.A.

We’re told 50-year-old Foster, who produced several Aiken CDs, is due in August. She’s the sister of record mogul David Foster. She divorced a few years back and has no kids. Aiken is 29.

We’re told Foster was artificially inseminated. But Clay is a lot more than sperm — we’re told he will have an active role in raising the child.

Uh.  Okayyyyy…

I really don’t have much to add to this story, except to wonder if he and Larry Birkhead will be getting their kids together for “playdates”.  Ain’t sayin’, just sayin’.

And you simply must see this photo over at dlisted.  It really, really makes you wonder about some people.  Yes, they are “mom jeans” personified.