Clay Aiken recently shared his recollections of a challenging period in his life. In an appearance on Page Six Radio, the 47-year-old singer discussed how Rosie O’Donnell publicly outed him during ‘The View’ in November 2006. This occurred during an on-air exchange between O’Donnell and Kelly Ripa.
Aiken described his reaction to the incident, saying, “I died inside a lot that week.” He was alerted by his son’s mother, who told him, “You need to wake up because Rosie just outed you on ‘The View.’ I was freaked out.”
The situation developed after Aiken playfully covered Ripa’s mouth while co-hosting ‘Live with Regis and Kelly.’ Ripa didn’t appreciate the joke and removed his hand, commenting, “I don’t know where that hand’s been, honey.”
O’Donnell later defended Aiken on ‘The View,’ calling Ripa’s comment “homophobic.” She told Ripa, “From where I sit as a gay person in the world, that’s how it came off to me.”
Aiken was in Los Angeles when the incident aired and recalled, “I don’t have any ill feelings against Rosie. She meant well,” though he recognized her choice of words was in reaction to the tense situation.
Ripa responded to O’Donnell’s accusation, explaining her comment was due to concerns about cold and flu season, emphasizing it was “outrageous” to suggest homophobia.
Aiken later referenced the incident while presenting at the VMA Awards with Tori Spelling, appreciating her efforts to “diffuse the situation.”
While O’Donnell incorrectly revealed Aiken’s sexuality, he confirmed he was gay in September 2008, posing with his newborn son for People magazine. The cover featured the headline, ‘Yes, I’m Gay.’ Aiken explained to the outlet, “I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn’t raised that way, and I’m not going to raise a child to do that.”
His son was born via in vitro fertilization with Jaymes Foster, a close friend and music producer.
Clay Aiken became well-known after appearing on Season 2 of ‘American Idol,’ finishing as the runner-up to Ruben Studdard in 2003.