Clay Aiken calls on-air clash with Kelly Ripa 'most catastrophic week'

Clay Aiken revisited the moment he placed his hand over Kelly Ripa’s mouth during a 2006 appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly. Speaking on the Hollywood Raw podcast, he said he stepped in as a co-host to stop Ripa from talking so he could ask guests questions, and replied when asked if they had spoken since, "No.

I didn’t have the problem." He described the fallout as "the most catastrophic week of my life," adding, "No one would remember but me because I was the one with the scars." Aiken said he had tried to be funny — there were cue cards with his name on them — but the room grew cold, the audience froze, and he worried he had upset Ripa.

The following week, with Regis Philbin back, the hosts discussed what they called Aiken’s "hostility." Rosie O’Donnell later labeled Ripa "homophobic" on The View, even though Aiken said he was not publicly out at the time. Ripa called into The View to defend herself: "To imply that it’s anything homophobic is outrageous, Rosie, and you know better.

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