You may be surprised to find out that the most famous American Idol runner-up ever, Clay Aiken, is actually running for Congress in North Carolina.
It was while campaigning that Clay Aiken made the comment about the nude photo scandal which happened at the end of last month.
A nefarious individual or individuals uploaded a large cache of celebrity nude photos to a website called 4chan. The photos — obtained illegally — were spread to Reddit, and from there they branched out to the rest of the internet. Some of the major stars affected were Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, and Kate Upton . Legal responses were pondered, and the entire technological world worried anew about security and privacy in the internet age.
Clay Aiken, however, has no sympathy for the victimized stars, according to the Washington Post .
“Anybody who takes inappropriate pictures of themselves deserves exactly what they get.”
As cold as that statement makes Aiken sound, Clay was quick to add that he has no tolerance for whomever stole the pictures either.
“Of course, whoever [stole and released the photos] should be hog-tied. And it’s unfortunate that we don’t have internet security right now or the laws in place to protect people from pirating that stuff.”
The Congressional candidate tried to comically dissuade celebrities from taking lascivious photos of themselves.
“I’ve got a mirror if I want to check something out.”
Clay Aiken is running for Congress because his primary opponent died. Keith Crisco (71) suffered a fall in his home shortly after the primary election, according to CBS News . Aiken technically won the race by less than 400 votes, and Crisco could have pushed for a recount, but his death ended up being his concession.
Now, Aiken is running a moderately democratic campaign in a staunchly conservative section of North Carolina. But he likes his chances. Hollywood has proven in the past it can launch its own into the political stratosphere (ie. Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger).
“Oprah said something to me years ago, one of the first times I met her. She said being a good talk show host isn’t about being a good talker, it’s about being good at listening. It’s a misnomer. I think a lot of politicians think being a good one is knowing the right thing to say. I think it’s knowing when to shut the hell up.”
Though, if you ask him about the nude photo scandal, Clay Aiken has lots to say.
[Image via YouTube]