Clay Aiken has revisited the intense on-air confrontation with Kelly Ripa that occurred over two decades ago on "Live with Regis and Kelly," describing the incident as the "most catastrophic week of my life."
The "American Idol" alum, now 47, recounted the 2006 moment when, serving as a guest co-host, he placed his hand over Ripa's mouth in an attempt to interrupt her and ask questions to their guests. Aiken stated on the "Hollywood Raw" podcast that he did not believe he had a problem with Ripa, despite the public nature of their clash.
"Maybe I should feel bad that I have not gone up and said something myself, but she hasn’t either," Aiken said, noting that he has seen Ripa at industry events since the incident. "We’re talking about something that happened — 20 years ago — which became this huge blowup. That was the most catastrophic week of my life. No one would remember but me because I was the one with the scars."
Aiken explained his motivation for the action, saying, "I’m on the show because I wanted to show them I could handle this myself; I could host something and I wasn’t getting to talk." He described his gesture as "incredibly innocent" at the time, but acknowledged the room grew "a little cold" after his actions.
During the original broadcast, Aiken asked Ripa, "Is that a no-no?" to which she replied, "Oh, that’s a no, no, no. Don’t know where that hand’s been, honey."
The situation escalated the following week when Regis Philbin returned as Ripa's co-host. They discussed Aiken's behavior, with Ripa stating, "There was a lack of respect, and when you’re a certain person, you’re in the public eye, you have to be respectful of other people. And I don’t think that he was respectful in any way. If that upsets his fans, I’m sorry to hear that, but you don’t put your hands over somebody’s face and mouth when they’re conducting an interview, even if it’s for a laugh."
Rosie O'Donnell then addressed the incident on "The View," referring to Ripa's reaction as potentially "homophobic," despite Aiken not being publicly out at the time. Ripa responded during a live call-in to "The View," defending her comments by explaining her concern about germs during cold and flu season and calling O'Donnell's implication "outrageous."
Aiken recalled the public fallout, stating, "I was not out at the time. I was not out to my grandparents and the people in my family. And not only does Rosie call it a homophobic remark — which I think she accidentally said, and then she tried to walk it back a little bit — but then Kelly calls in live to ‘The View’ that day and they get in an argument over it."
He added that Ripa's call-in to "The View" and subsequent argument effectively "outted" him. "Not only did she out me, but they had a big argument about whether I was gay and who talked about me being gay."
In an effort to shift public perception, Aiken's team reportedly sent media outlets videos of Ripa placing her hand over Philbin's mouth in similar past instances. Aiken later sent Ripa flowers, which she accepted. He stated that Ripa thanked him and allegedly apologized for escalating the situation, even offering him a chance to return to the show. However, Aiken claimed he has tried to reappear on "Live" but has been unsuccessful.
A representative for Ripa did not immediately respond to requests for comment.