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"Clay Aiken has revealed that he was picked on at school as a child for being gay.  The singer, who remembered being teased and called names, recently became a public supporter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in order to ensure that students like himself are safe and happy.  &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t know what it would have done for me. But I feel like there&amp;#039;s a potential impact there,&amp;quot; he told The AP. &amp;quot;The truth is, when I look back on it, I absolutely know that [being gay] is why I got picked on. People said it, we heard it.&amp;quot;  Aiken added that his son Parker is a large part of his inspiration in the advocacy group.  &amp;quot;If he&amp;#039;s gay, I want him to not even think about the fact or have to worry about the things I had to worry about. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m not going to pound the pavement as much as some folks would like... But I also think there&amp;#039;s a place for deliberate, thoughtful advocacy.&amp;quot;  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/news/a224025/aiken-i-was-picked-on-for-being-gay/>