Highlights
- Clay Aiken’s son Parker recently made his TV debut on
Celebrity Family Feud,
impressing viewers with his clever answers. - Clay shared anecdotes about Parker, motivated by his son to come out as gay in 2008, prioritizing honesty in parenting.
- Parker helped win $25,000 for charity and helped the Aiken family emerge victorious on the game show, showcasing his wit and talent.
Clay Aiken’s son Parker, now 15, just made his television debut on Celebrity Family Feud with Steve Harvey.
It doesn’t feel like it’s been two decades since Clay Aiken was American Idol’s second-ever runner-up, coming in just behind Ruben Studdard.
But it has, and now Clay is doing that thing where he’s back on our TV screens with a nearly-grown miniature version of himself, reminding us all that American Idol Season 2 was a really long time ago.
Clay didn’t fade from view entirely after American Idol Season 2 came to an end, and in fact, he was remarkably busy in his post-reality TV era.
In addition to pursuing his music career, Aiken also ran for Congress in his native North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District in 2014.
Idol Season 2 ended in 2003, and in 2008, Clay’s son Parker was born.
In July, People profiled Parker, noting that his father had largely kept him out of the spotlight:
“The American Idol runner-up [Clay] and his best friend, music producer Jaymes Foster, welcomed Parker in August 2008. Though Clay and Jaymes were not romantically linked, they made plans to raise their son together, and she became pregnant through in vitro fertilization.
“Over the years, Clay has seldom publicly commented about his son and doesn’t often discuss him in interviews nor share photos of him on social media. Still, on the rare occasion when he does, Clay shares anecdotes about Parker and his personality behind the scenes.”
As People explained, the birth of his son motivated Clay to come out as gay in September 2008, and he said at the time:
“It was the first decision I made as a father. 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.”
Clay later recalled how constant questions about his sexual orientation were before his coming out, and described having to brace himself for wall-to-wall jokes during his Idol stint:
“If I heard anybody setting up a gay joke on a sitcom or a late-night show, I held my breath because I knew my name was coming. Eighty percent of the time I was right.”
One month after People’s profile was published, Clay and Parker Aiken were contestants on Celebrity Family Feud, sparking interest in the younger Aiken.
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Clay Wasn’t The Only Idol Alum On Celebrity Family Feud
ABC shared a clip of the intros for Aiken’s episode of Celebrity Family Feud, which aired on August 6.
The clip was unlisted, and thus not embeddable, but in it, Clay explained the dynamics of the two sides on stage at the start of the video:
“We got a very mixed family up here on stage, we’re not just two American Idol runners-up, but we’ve got some Fosters on both sides of the aisle, too.”
Clay’s mention of “Fosters” referred partly to his “side of the aisle,” and partly to the other, where fellow Idol alum Katherine McPhee Foster and husband David Foster stood.
Steve asked Clay to “introduce everybody”; Clay first introduced his mother Faye, before introducing his son, brother, and explaining some dynamics between the two sides.
“This is my son, Parker making his TV debut, his mother, Jaymes – who happens to be David’s sister Jaymes – and my brother, Brett.”
As Clay explained, Jaymes is both Parker’s mother and David (Foster)’s sister, and he joked about Jaymes’ allegiances on Celebrity Family Feud as he clarified who was related to whom on the opposing sides:
“That’s David’s sister (Jaymes) and David’s nephew (Parker), yes, so David’s sister Jaymes is on the right team — she wanted to win tonight, that’s why she’s [unintelligible].”
Per USA Today, Parker Aiken seized victory for his team, netting $25,000 for charity:
“Parker got in a few clever answers, including clinching the win on the question, ‘Name a famous Tom that a girl would love to go to the prom with’ by suggesting Tom Holland despite Harvey’s skepticism.
“Aiken’s family eventually took the win for their charity, the National Inclusion Project.”
Clay’s quip about winning was prescient, and after the Aiken family indeed won, they moved on to the “Fast Money” round.
Celebrity Family Feud
- Release Date
- June 24, 2008
- Main Genre
- Game Show