Clay Aiken recalls 'huge blowup' with Kelly Ripa 20 years later: 'Probably the most catastrophic week of my life'
Clay Aiken recalls 'huge blowup' with Kelly Ripa 20 years later: 'Probably the most catastrophic week of my life'
Kathleen PerriconeThu, June 25, 2026 at 12:38 AM UTC
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Clay Aiken; Kelly RipaCredit: John Lamparski/Getty; Taylor Hill/FilmMagicKey Points -
Clay Aiken is looking back on the "huge blowup" he had with Kelly Ripa in 2006, when he was a guest cohost on Live With Regis and Kelly.
During an interview with Dancing With the Stars winners, the singer put his hand over Ripa's mouth so he could ask a question.
"I don't think that he was respectful in any way," Ripa later complained to Philbin.
The 2006 pop culture history books had Britney and Kevin, Brad and Angelina — and Clay and Kelly.
That year, on the morning of Nov. 20, American Idol's Clay Aiken subbed for Regis Philbin on Live With Regis and Kelly and found himself struggling to get a word in while interviewing Dancing With the Stars champions Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke alongside cohost Kelly Ripa.
What happened next would not soon be forgotten — certainly not by Aiken.
During a recent appearance on the Hollywood Raw podcast, Aiken recalled, "I wasn't getting to talk, like there were cue cards [and] they had my name on them. So I tried to be funny and I did what I did, which was incredibly innocent."
Clay Aiken covers Kelly Ripa's mouth during an interview with Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke
That is, Aiken attempted to shush Ripa by playfully putting his hand over her mouth, which she didn't find at all amusing. "Is that a no-no?" Aiken asked. "Oh, that's a no, no, no," Ripa replied. "I don't know where that hand's been, honey."
The morning host was so peeved, she brought it up the following week upon Philbin's return.
"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," Ripa fumed on air. "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."
Two decades later, Aiken has opened up about his mindset in the aftermath of the "huge blowup."
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"That was probably the most catastrophic week of my life, to be honest," he said on the podcast, alluding to tabloid headlines that kept the awkward TV moment alive long past its expiration date. "She had such a big voice at that time."
Ripa's remark about not knowing "where that hand's been" was perceived as a cheap shot at Aiken's rumored sexuality (two years later, he would publicly come out as gay).
On The View at the time, Rosie O'Donnell blasted Ripa's comment as "homophobic." Ripa even called in to the ABC talk show to defend her choice of words, explaining that as a mother of three children she was concerned about "cold and flu season" after watching Aiken "shaking hands with everybody in the audience… That's what I meant. To imply that it's anything homophobic is outrageous, Rosie, and you know better. You should be more responsible."
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In the years since, Aiken and Ripa have occasionally crossed paths, but stayed in their own lanes.
"Maybe I should feel bad that I have not gone up and said something myself," Aiken acknowledged on the podcast, "but she hasn't either."
An source close to Ripa tells Entertainment Weekly that the talk show queen has moved on since the awkward moment with Aiken, adding, "This all happened 20 years ago, so it is rather silly to be a story now."
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
