When I was working on my cover story on American Idol for The Advocate, Mario Vasquez's representatives did not respond to my requests for an intervew or for comment on the sexual harassment lawsuit that has been filed against Vasquez by a male former employee of the show's production company.
The lawsuit broke as the story was in its final stages and Vasquez ended up on the cover of the current issue of the magazine!To read an exclusive excerpt of my American Idol cover story in The Advocate, click HERE.

Vasquez has not given ANY interviews since the lawsuit was filed but prior to that, he did speak with ArjanWrites.com and he was asked about his sexuality and about why he quit the most popular show in America that has been a launching pad to stardom for such arists as Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood and others.
Vasquez said quitting the show "had a lot to do with artistic reasons. It was the number one priority for me to have artistic control. I realized that creating my own sound was a major thing for me. When I started out with Idol I didn’t think about it that much. But when Idol progressed, there were more lenient opportunities towards things that I wanted to do as an artist. I wanted to be more in tune with what I wanted to sing and perform. The people at charge [at America Idol] would assume or help me create a certain image. But I’m very specific about what I wanted. It was important to me to be versatile as an artist. I think with my debut album I’ve accomplished that."
On the gay rumors: " I'm not gay. But I want people to know I'm very tolerant of [gays]. I grew up with gay people. Growing up in New York City and growing up in the world of arts, it is something that’s there and I don’t even have a second thought about it."