Katharine McPhee Tells Idols to Stay in Closet

Singer-actress Katharine McPhee, best known as first runner-up on season 5 of American Idol, is now advising future gay contestants not to reveal their sexuality while still on the show -- regardless of new judge Ellen DeGeneres's potentially liberating influence.

"I love Ellen and think she's going to be great on the show," McPhee tells Brandon Voss in NightTimez, a New England LGBT newspaper, "but that's a tricky thing I can only compare to someone who's really spiritual or religious: You don't need to wear your religion on your sleeve. The competition is not about your faith or your sexuality but about you as an artist.

"Look, I think everyone knew Adam Lambert was gay. I don't feel it was a big surprise, and I think Adam did the right thing by coming out with that Rolling Stone cover. He was just as flamboyant on the show as he is now, but anytime you say too much about your personal stuff, it can hinder you in the competition. If people saw the pictures of me being crazy in college with my gay friends and my girlfriends, they'd probably think differently of me on the show. So it's a fine line you have to follow on a reality show competition when all of America is voting."

Currently promoting her sophomore solo album, Unbroken, McPhee also doesn't hesitate to come out as an admirer of the feminine form.

"It might be kind of cliche, and it's taken me some time to fully admit it, but Megan Fox is definitely my female crush just for physical appearances. Sometimes she's a little too vulgar for me with the things she says, but she's a gorgeous woman."