Pictured clockwise: Simon Cowell, Clay Aiken, Will Young, and Jim Verraros

Nine former fans of Clay Aiken, listing themselves as aggrieved consumers, filed a FTC complaint last month against recording companies RCA and SONY/BMG for false advertising and misrepresentation in the marketing and promotion of Aiken.

The former 'Claymates" feel hurt and deceived following revelations by former U.S. Army Green Beret John Paulus that he had unprotected sex with Aiken (in another twist to this bizarre story Paulus, whose military career was cut short, has signed with Lucas Entertainment to begin a new career as a porn star).

The former fans who have filed the suit insist they are not homophobic "We have been dismayed to see our complaint characterized in the media as homophobic. That is not our intention and while central to our complaint it is regrettable that Mr. Aiken's sexuality has come under scrutiny. Our complaint is not about defaming Mr. Aiken or his sexual preferences. It is directed toward the deceptive practices of the record companies."

Which raises questions about the practices of RCA Records, and the agent that signed Clay Aiken to RCA, Simon Cowell.

Cowell has been widely criticized for making homophobic and genderphobic comments on the show 'American Idol'. The watchdog group GLAAD has expressed concerns about the show on more than one occassion.

But did Cowell and RCA Records pressure Aiken to stay in the closet? The answer to that question may come from two openly gay former idol contestants, Will Young and Jim Verraros.

American Idol One finalist Jim Verraros stayed in the closet during the show. Fans discovered his online journal which 'outed' him in the middle of the season. The journal, was quickly taken offline. Advocate Magazine tried to get an interview with Verraros, but their calls to the show were not returned (Jim Verraros later said he did not know the Advocate was trying to reach him). Verraros did not 'come out' until after the end of the American Idol Concert Tour, when his contractual obligations to 'American Idol' had been completed.

Stronger evidence comes from Will Young. Young is a winner of the 'Pop Idol', Cowell's version of American Idol in the United Kingdom. Will Young's first single, Evergreen/Anything Is Possible sold over a million copies in its first week and became the fastest selling debut single of all time.

Young claims he was then offerred a lucrative record deal to bring his music to America, but only if he stayed in the closet. In an interview with The Sun he stated "I've been offered a major deal but I'm in a dilemna. They want me to keep quiet about my private life ..."

Young declined to give the name of the record company in the interview but he had recently met with RCA Records.

Only Clay Aiken can talk about his own experience, but the stories of Will Young and Jim Verraros would lead one to believe that Cowell, American Idol, and RCA may well be pressuring recording artists to lie about their personal lives.

Last week on Larry King Live Simon Cowell commented "You hear the lawsuits ... that he pretended to be straight or something. I mean it's just crazy."

The following day, the nine former Clay Aiken fans responded "We are grateful that the merits of our complaint will be heard by the FTC instead of a pretend judge from a televised talent show."