Clay Aiken discloses that he is gay

With the birth of his son, Parker, singer Clay Aiken decided it was time to admit that he is gay, People magazine reported today on its Web site.

"It was the first decision I made as a father," the magazine quoted Aiken as saying. "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."

Parker was born Aug. 8; the infant was conceived through artificial insemination with Jaymes Foster, a music producer who worked on Aiken's most recent album.

Aiken, 29, acknowledged that the news, as well as his fatherhood, could be "a lot" for his fans to absorb. "But if they leave, I don't want them to leave hating me," he said.

According to People, Aiken came out to his mother, Faye, four years ago. At the time, they had just dropped off his younger brother, Brett, at Camp Lejeune for deployment to Iraq.

Aiken told the magazine that he started crying in the car. "I just started bawling. She made me pull over the car and it just came out," he said.

His mother began to cry and was somewhat stunned, Aiken said. "She still struggles with things quite a bit, but she's come a long way," he told People.

He said his son, Parker, would be raised in an accepting environment. He said he has no control over whether the child will be gay or straight.

"It's not something I'll have anything to do with, or that he'll have anything to do with. It's already probably up inside the code there," he told People.

The most important thing, he said, is to raise his son in a loving environment.

People promised photos of Parker and more of its interview with Aiken, plus a message for his fans, in the issue that appears Friday on newsstands.