Clay Aiken Reflects on Rosie O'Donnell 'Outing' Him on The View
The 'American Idol' alum described the incident, which occurred in November 2006, as part of a 'catastrophic week' in his life.
Clay Aiken recalled a moment on "The View" in November 2006 where co-host Rosie O'Donnell inadvertently revealed his sexual orientation, an event he described as "outing" him. This incident, which occurred on live television, was part of what Aiken termed the "most catastrophic week" of his life.
Aiken, who rose to fame as the runner-up on the second season of "American Idol" in 2003, recounted the events during a recent appearance on Page Six Radio. He explained that the "outing" by O'Donnell happened shortly after an uncomfortable interaction with Kelly Ripa on "Live with Regis and Kelly." In that earlier incident, Aiken playfully covered Ripa's mouth, leading her to quip about where his hand had been. Aiken has since described the gesture as "incredibly innocent."
Following the interaction with Ripa, Aiken learned from a friend while in bed that O'Donnell and Ripa were debating his behavior on "The View." O'Donnell reportedly called Ripa's comment "homophobic." Aiken stated that O'Donnell then "outed" him on the air. He recalled waking up to the news with panic.
Aiken explained that he was not publicly out at the time, though he was out to people he knew personally and to his grandparents and other family members. He later came out publicly in a September 2008 cover story for People magazine.
He described the sequence of events as "catastrophic" because "not only did Rosie out me, but they had a big argument about whether I was gay and who talked about me being gay." Aiken acknowledged that O'Donnell likely did not intend harm and that her words might have been chosen in the heat of the moment.
Aiken added that he still maintains a friendship with O'Donnell and understands her intentions, though he has not spoken with Ripa since the incident, despite crossing paths on multiple occasions.
That same evening after the "outing" incident, Aiken was scheduled to appear at the American Music Awards. He recounted how actress Tori Spelling suggested a humorous way to diffuse the tension by playfully covering his mouth as he introduced John Mayer's performance, echoing the earlier gesture with Ripa.
In June of this year, Aiken had also addressed the moment with Ripa, defending it as an innocent act. At the time of the incident, Ripa had called the gesture "disrespectful" and later explained to People magazine that her concern stemmed from it being cold and flu season and his interaction with the audience, not from any homophobic sentiment. She expressed surprise that O'Donnell would imply otherwise.