Reflecting on a controversial TV moment, Clay Aiken recently opened up about his infamous encounter with Kelly Ripa, where he placed his hand over her mouth during a 2006 episode of “Live with Regis and Kelly.” This incident, which transpired on air, has lingered in public memory for more than two decades.
As the “American Idol” alum, now 47, recalled his stint as a guest co-host on the daytime talk show, he shared that his intention was to pose questions to their guests, which led to the unexpected gesture of silencing Ripa.
During a recent discussion on the “Hollywood Raw” podcast, Aiken was asked if he had spoken to Ripa since that day. His response was candid: “No. I didn’t have the problem.”
Despite his active involvement in New York City’s Broadway circuit and social events, Aiken revealed he has encountered Ripa, now 55, at various gatherings over the years.
Reflecting on their lack of reconciliation, Aiken admitted, “Maybe I should feel bad that I have not gone up and said something myself, but she hasn’t either.” He emphasized the passage of time, noting, “We’re talking about something that happened — 20 years ago — which became this huge blowup.”
“That was the most catastrophic week of my life,” the musician added. “No one would remember but me because I was the one with the scars.”
“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 that he felt bad and was “worried” that he had upset Ripa after seeing the audience “frozen.”
“Is that a no-no?” Aiken asked Ripa at the time, to which she responded, “Oh, that’s a no, no, no. Don’t know where that hand’s been, honey.”
The TV personality shared on the podcast that he didn’t remember how he and Ripa parted ways, but it wasn’t until the following week, when the latter’s co-host, Regis Philbin, had returned, that the situation escalated.
At the time, Philbin, who died in 2020, and Ripa discussed Aiken’s “hostility.”
“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 told her co-host.
“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.”
Then the following day, Rosie O’Donnell addressed the incident on “The View” and referred to Ripa as “homophobic” despite Aiken not having been out yet.
Ripa responded to the actress by calling into the talk show to defend herself, stating, “I have three kids. He’s shaking hands with everybody in the audience.”
“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,” the TV personality told O’Donnell.
Recalling the “blow up,” Aiken said, “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.”
“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 actor added, “Not only did she out me, but they had a big argument about whether I was gay and who talked about me being gay.”
That same week, Aiken reflected on how his “wonderful publicist” and interns did “great work” on finding videos of Ripa placing her hand over Philbin’s mouth throughout the years and sending the clips to the media.
“The tides sort of turned,” Aiken said, explaining that he then sent Ripa flowers, which she thanked him for and allegedly apologized for “blowing” the situation out of proportion.
Per Aiken, Ripa extended an olive branch to him and an offer to return to the show. However, the Broadway star alleged that he’s “tried” to appear on the show but has been unable to return.
A rep for Ripa wasn’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.