Clay Aiken has learned that you don't have to actually be a winner to come out ahead. He learned that lesson when he came in second on "American Idol" and was launched into fame while the actual winner of that contest is pretty much forgotten. He seems to have applied that lesson to his recent congressional campaign as well.
Aiken lost in a landslide but not to worry, he is about to star in a TV reality show about that campaign. Unfortunately for Clay, some of the good footage of him hanging out with celebrity donors at a September 30 fundraiser in Los Angeles might not be able to be used. The donors are now feeling "duped" by Aiken according to Variety. However, before we go to the downside of his reality series, let us celebrate Aiken's congressional campaign loss which was really a TV reality show win for him according to this Politico story:
He may not be heading to Congress, but Clay Aiken is heading back to the small screen.
After the former “American Idol” contestant lost his bid for North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District seat on Tuesday night, the Esquire Network announced it will air an as-of-yet untitled docuseries based on Aiken’s campaign.
The four-hour series, which will air in early 2015, has been filming Aiken since he announced in February that he would seek to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Renee Ellmers. Ellmers sailed to reelection, leading Aiken 59 to 41 percent, The Associated Press reported.
Gee! Does anybody out there have the sneaky suspicion that Aiken never intended to win the congressional race but intended all along to become a TV reality show star? If you had actually donated to Aiken's campaign you probably now think you were duped. In fact that is what the celebrity donors to Aiken's campaign call themselves, according to Variety:
Some Los Angeles donors who attended a Sept. 30 fundraiser for Clay Aiken in Los Angeles feel “duped” after the announcement, just hours after he lost his race for a North Carolina congressional seat, that Esquire Network had been producing a “docu-series” about his campaign.
According to Karen Ocamb of FrontiersLA, donors are asking that footage of the event not be included in the documentary. Donors have complained that a film crew following Aiken around that night asked attendees to sign release forms, but told them that it was for a BBC documentary that would not air in the U.S.
The organizer of the Aiken fundraiser, actor-producer Steven Tyler, sent a letter to Aiken in which he wrote, “I am sorry for the loss on your bid for Congress, but apparently you had yourself covered with a reality TV show deal the entire time, just in case you didn’t win. I cannot speak for the NC Voters or contributors, but I can speak for myself and many of your Los Angeles supporters when I say we feel duped, taken advantage of and lied to.”
...In his letter, posted in Ocamb’s story, Tyler wrote that “had the LA donors known you would personally benefit from their donations and appearance at the event — they would not have donated to your campaign.”
Here is one video clip of a Clay Aiken fundraiser that should definitely be included in his reality show but he might not like it because it is all too real (strong language warning):
Exit question: Will Martha Coakley get her own reality show on "The Biggest Loser?"
