The new issue of The Advocate (dated April 24, 2007) is just hitting the stands and arriving in homes and I'm excited because I wrote the cover story! It's called "American Idol's Big Gay Closet." The article asks whether an openly gay singer could ever win. It should seem possible on a show with sappy songs, flamboyant contestants and a metrosexual host. All this combines to make "American Idol" the campiest thing on TV.
I interviewed season one finalists Jim Verarros and RJ Helton, who both came out after the show, Tom Lowe - an openly gay contestant whose failure to reach the top 24 this season raised eyebrows, and various others including Lance Bass and Erasure's Andy Bell about the the show and, I think, it's compelling reading!
Will eventually post the entire article for Out In Hollywood readers but, for now, will offer you just a taste of the article so you will go out and buy a copy of The Advocate!
AMERICAN IDOL'S BIG GAY CLOSET
By Greg Hernandez
Divas like Fantasia, Kimberly Locke and Jennifer Hudson attractlegions of gay fans. Judge Simon Cowell and host Ryan Seacrest seem to be flirting as they delight in challenging each other’s sexuality. And each season, at least a few finalists - most notably Clay Aiken - seem to set off everybody’s gaydar.
American Idol is not only the most popular show on network television with an average of 32 million viewers each week, it is also clearly one of the gayest. But there seems to be some kind of unwritten rule that contestants should not be out while competing for the title.
Season one contestant R.J. Helton, who finished fifth, came out publicly last October but struggled with being in the closet while he was on the show.
"I did tell some of the assistant producers because I felt like it was eating me alive," Helton says. "But I was advised to just keep it to myself. The reason they gave me was that it wouldn’t be a good idea for my career. I wasn’t prepared to be out then anyway, I wasn’t comfortable with myself at that point."
Fox spokesman Joe Earley says he was not aware of Helton confiding in anyone on the show about his sexuality and if someone did indeed encourage Helton to remain closeted, that assistant producer was
speaking on their own behalf and not for the show.
"Since season one, when it became clear that people’s personal lives were going to become public, the gay contestants have usually declared early in the [background check] process how comfortable they were with their own sexaulity," says Earley, who is out. "I’ve been intimate in this process and there is no fear coming from
producers or the network about a contestant’s sexuality as it relates to being gay."
Helton’s fellow season one finalist, Jim Verraros, got a lot of attention for coming out shortly after competing on the show (he finished in ninth place) and appearing on the American Idol tour.
"I was more concerned about how America would perceive me than the producers," admits Verraros. "Even on tour, I definitely toned it down, making sure my voice dropped an octave. Now, I don’t give a
fuck. But at the time, I thought, ‘You have to appeal to everybody and be as mainstream as possible.’"
Verraros, 24, was the first fellow contestant Helton felt he could confide in.
"I didn’t tell any of the contestants although I’m sure a few knew just by living with me," Helton says. "Jim was the first person that I talked to about it all with. We came back for the finale show and were about to go on tour. We were in the front lobby of the hotel and I said, ‘We have to talk.’"
By the time Helton, 25, did an interview on Sirius radio last October in support of Idol Rewind, a syndicated rerun of the show’s first season, he was far more comfortable with himself and decided to come
out publicly.
Some believe the show tries to project an image of wholesomeness in order to preserve its monster ratings and appeal to virtually every demographic and geographical region in the country.
Many wonder if preservation of that image was the reason behind the mysterious departure of season four finalist Mario Vazquez who had set some gaydars off during his journey to the top 12. Vazquez was
never voted off the show but made the unprecedented decision to quit after making the finals citing "family reasons."
Vazquez, has never discussed his sexuality but he is now at the center of one of the bigger scandals in the show’s history. Magdaleno Olmos, a former assistant accountant for Fremantle Media which produces the show, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the show in March accusing Vazquez of
sexually harassing him.

-- to be continued...

[The Advocate is on newstands now!]