Clay Aiken says he “died inside” after Rosie O’Donnell “outed” him on The View
Clay Aiken says he “died inside” after Rosie O’Donnell “outed” him during a 2006 on-air debate on The View. (Bruce Glikas/WireImage)
Clay Aiken has said he “died inside” after Rosie O’Donnell “outed” him during a 2006 on-air debate on The View, as clips from the moment continue to resurface online.
Speaking on Page Six Radio, Aiken described it as part of “the most catastrophic week” of his life.
The fallout began in November 2006, when Aiken guest-hosted Live With Regis and Kelly and jokingly put his hand over Kelly Ripa’s mouth. Ripa replied: “I don’t know where that hand’s been, honey,” a line that quickly became a talking point.
On Page Six Radio, host Evan Real brought up a later segment on The View in which O’Donnell criticised Ripa’s remark as “homophobic”, which Ripa denied when she called into the show.
O’Donnell added: “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 rejected the idea that O’Donnell had simply stepped in to protect him, saying: “You say defended, I say outed,” before adding: “I died inside a lot that week.”
How Aiken says the situation unfolded
Aiken said he was asleep in Los Angeles when the debate played out in New York City. He recalled being woken by his friend Jaymes Foster, who told him: “You need to wake up because Rosie just outed you on The View,” and said of his reaction: “I woke up. I was freaked out.”
Aiken did not publicly reveal his sexuality until a September 2008 PEOPLE magazine cover story, with the headline: “Yes, I’m gay.”
Fallout and where things stand
Aiken also described how the incident followed him into other appearances that day, including introducing John Mayer at the American Music Awards with Tori Spelling at the Shrine Auditorium. He said Spelling suggested they “do something funny” and then mirrored the mouth-covering gag onstage, quipping: “And I’ll tell you where that hand’s been later,” as Aiken recounted it.
Despite the impact, Aiken said: “I don’t have any ill feelings against Rosie. She did mean well,” and added that the episode “hardly ever crosses” his mind, though he has thought about it more in the past three months because people keep asking about it.
