Clay Aiken is out! Clay Aiken is out!

Clay Aiken officially came out of the closet in the new issue of People magazine, set to be released this Friday. Sure, this is one that most people had figured out, but it’s still good to see the former American Idol runner-up come out of his closet, and on his own terms to boot. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“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.”

The born-again Christian singer also reveals how he told his mother Faye he’s gay four years ago. After dropping off his younger brother Brett, who was being deployed to Iraq, at Camp Lejeune, “I started crying in the car,” Aiken remembers. “It was dark. I was sitting there, thinking to myself. I don’t know why I started thinking about it … I just started bawling. She made me pull over the car and it just came out.”

So what was his mom’s reaction? “She started crying. She was obviously somewhat stunned. But she was very supportive and very comforting.” Even now, Aiken admits, “She still struggles with things quite a bit, but she’s come a long way.”

Welcome out, Clay. Hang on through the negative nonsense that you’ll get from anti-gay groups and rejoice in your newfound freedom.

Now go give that baby a hug.