Clay Aiken Says Kelly Ripa 'Blowup' Was 'the Most Catastrophic Week of My Whole Life'

Former American Idol star Clay Aiken is reflecting on his awkward on-air exchange with Kelly Ripa on Live with Regis and Kelly and how deeply it affected him at the time.

On Wednesday, June 24, during an episode of the “Hollywood Raw” podcast, Aiken, 47, revisited the 2006 incident that occurred while he was serving as a guest co-host on the daytime talk show. The singer explained that he was trying to participate in the interview and ask questions when he jokingly placed his hand over Ripa's mouth.

“That was the most catastrophic week of my life,” the musician shared. “No one would remember but me because I was the one with the scars.”

He explained that he viewed the guest-hosting opportunity as a chance to prove he could handle television work on his own.

“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 said. “Like, there were cue cards. They had my name on them. So I tried to be funny, and I did what I did, which was incredibly innocent. And then it got a little cold in the room.”

Aiken admitted he immediately worried that he had offended Ripa after noticing the audience's reaction. During the exchange, he asked, “Is that a no-no?”

Ripa quickly responded, “Oh, that’s a no, no, no. Don’t know where that hand’s been, honey.”

According to Aiken, the controversy grew even larger the following week after Regis Philbin returned to the show.

Ripa and Philbin discussed what they viewed as Aiken's behavior during the interview.

“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,” Ripa said. “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. And that’s all I’m gonna say.”

When asked whether he and Ripa have spoken since the incident, Aiken replied, “No. I didn’t have the problem.”

The Broadway performer noted that although he's crossed paths with Ripa at events over the years, neither of them has approached the other about what happened.

“Maybe I should feel bad that I have not gone up and said something myself, but she hasn’t either,” he said. “We’re talking about something that happened — 20 years ago — which became this huge blowup.”

The controversy took another turn when Rosie O'Donnell discussed the incident on The View and referred to Ripa as “homophobic,” despite Aiken not being publicly out at the time.

Ripa later called into The View to defend herself.

“I have three kids. He’s shaking hands with everybody in the audience,” she said. “I mean, it’s cold and flu season. That’s what I meant. To imply that it’s anything homophobic is outrageous, Rosie, and you know better. You should be more responsible.”

Looking back, Aiken explained why that moment was especially difficult.

“I was not out at the time. I was to Rosie … I was out to people who I knew, but I wasn’t publicly out about it,” he stated.

He continued, “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.”

The singer felt the public discussion put him in an uncomfortable position.

“Not only did she out me, but they had a big argument about whether I was gay and who talked about me being gay,” Aiken shared.

As the story continued making headlines, Aiken said his public relations team worked quickly to provide additional context. That same week, he recalled how his “wonderful publicist” and interns found several clips of Ripa playfully placing her hand over Philbin's mouth during past episodes and distributed them to media outlets.

“The tides sort of turned,” Aiken said.

He later sent flowers to Ripa as a peace offering. According to Aiken, she thanked him and apologized for allegedly “blowing” the situation out of proportion.

Aiken said Ripa also invited him back to the show. Despite the offer, Aiken claimed he has attempted to return over the years but has never made another appearance.