Clay Aiken, the former American Idol star, recently reflected on his 20-year feud with Kelly Ripa, which he describes as the ‘most catastrophic’ week of his life. The controversy began in 2006 when Aiken was co-hosting Live with Regis and Kelly and playfully placed his hand over Ripa’s mouth during a live segment.

The Incident

Aiken explained that he had hoped the appearance would showcase his ability to host on his own, but he wasn’t able to say his lines due to cue cards with his name on them. He decided to put his hand over Ripa’s mouth in an attempt to be funny, but the joke did not land well with the audience or Ripa.

Ripa later described Aiken as ‘hostile’ and stated that there was a lack of respect. The controversy intensified after Rosie O’Donnell criticized Ripa on The View, calling her response ‘homophobic.’ At the time, Aiken had not publicly come out as gay.

Aftermath

Aiken revealed that he has not spoken to Ripa since the incident, despite crossing paths with her at several events over the past 20 years. He also explained that only a small circle of people knew he was gay at the time, including Rosie O’Donnell, but not his own family.

Aiken’s publicist and several interns compiled clips showing instances in which Ripa had similarly placed her hand over his mouth, which helped to shift the narrative. Aiken also sent Ripa flowers to apologize, and she later invited him to return to the show, although he claims those efforts have been unsuccessful.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.