Clay Aiken describes his disagreement with Kelly Ripa as the worst week of his life.

Clay Aiken’s Reflection on Kelly Ripa Feud

Clay Aiken has recently shared his thoughts on a long-standing feud with Kelly Ripa, describing it as one of the “most harrowing” weeks of his life.

In a recent podcast appearance on “Hollywood Row,” Aiken talked about an incident from 2006 while he was co-hosting “Live with Regis and Kelly.” The trouble started when Aiken jokingly covered Ripa’s mouth during a live segment, which led to significant backlash.

Surprisingly, Aiken revealed he hasn’t spoken to Ripa in the 20 years since that incident, despite running into her at various events.

“Maybe I should feel bad that I didn’t stand up and say something myself, but neither did she. It’s kind of odd to think this all stems from something so long ago that blew up like this,” he remarked.

He went on to say, “Honestly, it was the worst week of my life… No one will remember it but me because I was hurt.” Aiken hoped that his time on the show would help him demonstrate his hosting skills, but it didn’t go as planned.

“I was there to show I could handle it, but I just couldn’t speak,” he noted, mentioning that even though Ripa had cues, she struggled with her lines as well.

Aiken reflected on the awkwardness in the room after his attempt at humor. “I genuinely thought it was funny, but I could feel the audience’s reaction and quickly realized it fell flat,” he explained, recalling asking Ripa, “Is that okay?”

To his surprise, Ripa responded during the show with, “Oh, no, no, no. I don’t know where that hand was, honey.”

While Aiken isn’t quite sure when things soured between them, he remembers a rift following Regis Philbin’s return to the show. After the incident, Ripa characterized Aiken’s behavior as “hostile.” She spoke about how expectations of respect are crucial in the public eye, especially in their industry.

In her words, “I’m sorry if I offended his fans, but don’t put your hands over your face or mouth during the interview, even if it’s for a laugh.” This controversy intensified further when Rosie O’Donnell labeled Ripa’s reaction as “homophobic,” a particularly sensitive issue since Aiken had not yet publicly come out.

Looking back, Aiken admitted that at that time, only a handful of people knew he was gay, explaining, “I had come out to some close friends, but it hadn’t been public.” Ripa, defending herself on “The View,” argued that implying her actions were homophobic was absurd.

In the fallout, Aiken shared that he felt a lack of respect and noted that the incident had spiraled into something much larger than he anticipated. To navigate backlash, he revealed working with his team to edit clips showing Ripa in similar comedic situations.

Aiken later sent Ripa flowers as a form of apology, and he mentioned that she invited him back to the show, but attempts to reconnect didn’t pan out as hoped.

Though he acknowledges the past was complicated, Aiken mused about how their paths might cross again. He also noted how the perspective around such incidents can shift over time.