EXCLUSIVE: When Kelly Ripa Crushed Clay Aiken — 'American Idol' Alum Says Daytime Darling's Diss Devastated Him
Clay Aiken has admitted Kelly Ripa's alleged on-air diss left him devastated after 'American Idol.'
July 25 2026, Published 7:00 a.m. ET
American Idol alum Clay Aiken is speaking out for the first time about his tense 2006 guest co-hosting moment with Kelly Ripa, calling the incident and its fallout a "catastrophic" experience, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
During an appearance on the Hollywood Raw podcast, Aiken, now 47, was asked about his long-ago stint on Live With Regis and Kelly, during which he placed his hand over her mouth to muzzle her after she asked their guests a slew of questions without allowing him to add his two cents.
Kelly Ripa Blasted Clay Aiken
Clay Aiken called his 2006 clash with Kelly Ripa 'probably the most catastrophic week of my life.'
"Is that a no-no?" Aiken asked immediately afterward.
"Oh, that's a no, no, no," riled Ripa responded. "I don't know where that hand's been, honey."
The following week when Ripa's cohost, Regis Philbin, returned to the daytime show, she ripped Aiken for his "hostility" and "impropriety."
The bristling blonde further said: "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 Escalated Explosive TV Feud
Rosie O'Donnell called Ripa's reaction to Aiken 'homophobic,' before Ripa rejected the claim.
The View's Rosie O'Donnell later addressed the dust-up on the ABC chatfest – calling Ripa's reaction "homophobic."
Ripa called in to The View to counter, "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."
Aiken explained he wasn't out at the time – even though O'Donnell and friends were aware he is gay.
In hindsight, he says the "huge blowup" was "probably the most catastrophic week of my life" – and reveals before that he had been considered for his very own talk show, which failed to materialize.
Aiken Recalls Painful Public Outing
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Ripa later apologized to Aiken after he sent her flowers, the singer recalled.
Aiken, who publicly revealed he was gay in 2008, said having his sexuality discussed on TV was upsetting and recalled: "I was caving in on myself."
The Way singer later sent flowers to Ripa, who he said "apologized for it becoming blown out of proportion."
