Interview: Out “American Idol” alum Jim Verraros on Paula Abdul’s exit and Adam Lambert’s ascent

Had a nice chat with Jim Verraros this morning, the talented singer-actor who finished in ninth-place during the first season of American Idol.

Jim was the first Idol contestant to come out publicly as a gay man which he did shortly after his involvement with the show ended. But he was out there on his own. When I did an Advocate cover story on Idol in 2007 [American Idol’s Big Gay Closet],, it was pre-Clay Aiken finally confirming what everybody already knew and before Adam Lambert had burst onto the scene.

Jim is planning a big wedding next month in Chicago and I’m going to write all about it in a special Sunday post so stay tuned. But for now, I wanted to share with you Jim’s thoughts on Paula Abdul leaving Idol and on the show’s most recent runner up, the openly gay Lambert.

On judge Paula Abdul leaving: “I love Paula and I hope she knows that. That show is going to be a disaster if she doesn’t get back. I think she deserves whatever she’s asking for. She was a part of everything  from season one, she was amazing. I can speak from experience that she is really all about the contestants, she’s loving and caring and nurturing. You need a good cop, bad cop and Paula really serves as a key element for that show. I hope they get it together and bring it back. Something very true and raw about the show will be missing.”

On the rise of out singer Adam Lambert: Adam Lambert I love. I was kind of the first [to be out], it took Gayken [Clay Aiken] like nine years. Adam never denied [being gay] which I respected him for. I think he handled the situation perfectly. Even though it was the topic of conversation, he made it about his talent and music first and foremost. Then when he decided to come out, he handled that beautifully.”

I also asked Jim about his increasingly buff bod. When he starred in the first two Eating Out movies (he does not appear in the third film to be released later this year), Jim was cast as the cute nerd seeking the attention of the hot guy who may or may not be gay.

He has added 20 pounds of muscle onto his frame since those movies were made: “You get to a point in  your life whn you are ready for a change and you get to it.  I changed my diet and threw myself into the gym to see how far I could take my body, I got tired of being that geeky dork form Eating Out movies.”