Clay Aiken Reflects on Public Outing by Rosie O’Donnell

Clay Aiken recently shared his thoughts on a challenging moment in his life. During an interview on Page Six Radio, the 47-year-old singer detailed how he felt after being publicly outed by Rosie O’Donnell on The View in November 2006, while discussing an incident with Kelly Ripa.

“I died inside a lot that week,” Aiken confessed. He received an unexpected wake-up call from his son’s mother, informing him about the on-air revelation by O’Donnell. “I woke up. I was freaked out,” he added.

The incident stemmed from an earlier appearance where Aiken co-hosted Live with Regis and Kelly. During the show, Aiken playfully put his hand over Ripa’s mouth, which she didn’t appreciate. Ripa remarked, “I don’t know where that hand’s been, honey.”

When addressing the situation on The View a few days later, Rosie O’Donnell labeled Ripa’s response as “homophobic” while defending Aiken, stating, “From where I sit as a gay person in the world, I have to tell you, that’s how it came off to me.”

Aiken, who was in Los Angeles when The View episode aired, doesn’t harbor resentment toward O’Donnell. “I don’t have any ill feelings against Rosie. She did mean well,” he expressed.

Ripa, however, defended her remarks, explaining they were out of concern due to cold and flu season and dismissed the idea that her comment was “homophobic.”

Aiken humorously referenced the moment in a subsequent appearance at the VMA Awards with Tori Spelling, expressing gratitude for her support in mitigating the situation.

Although O’Donnell’s defense led to Aiken’s outing, he officially confirmed his sexuality in September 2008. He graced the cover of People with his newborn son, openly declaring, “Yes, I’m Gay.” Aiken shared that his decision was driven by his new role as a father. “I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things,” he emphasized.

Aiken’s son was born through in vitro fertilization with his close friend and music producer, Jaymes Foster.

Aiken gained recognition as a contestant on Season 2 of American Idol in 2003, finishing as the runner-up to Ruben Studdard. Reflecting on the show’s early days, Aiken mentioned, “Nobody thought that anybody was going to… Even Kelly [Clarkson] had not had anything happen for her yet.”

Lori A. Bashian is an entertainment news writer for Fox News Digital.