Clay Aiken entered the cultural zeitgeist when he competed on the second season of American Idol. This hasn’t always been easy for him, including a time when he was discussed on The View. Since then, Aiken has recently looked back on the moment in a recent conversation.
American Idol Alum Clay Aiken Recently Appeared On Page Six Radio
Aiken is a singer and television personality who first gained fame competing on the second season of American Idol in 2003. After coming in second, he pursued a career in music, appearing on Broadway and releasing albums, being one of American’s Idol‘s highest earning contestants.
Recently, Aiken made an appearance on Page Six Radio. At the time, he discussed a time when he became a topic of discussion on The View.
At the time, Aiken had filled in for Regis Philbin on Live. At one point, Aiken, when trying to get a question in, put a hand over Ripa’s mouth. This caused her to joke, “I don’t know where that hand’s been, honey.”
Later, the moment was discussed on The View, with Rosie O’Donnell calling her comments “homophobic.” For her part, Ripa also defended her comments, calling into The View and noting that it was cold and flu season and she had children to take care of.
Aiken Recently Appeared On The View Earlier This Month
During his recent radio appearance, host Evan Real described O’Donnell as defending Aiken. For his part, the American Idol alum expressed, “You say defended, I say outed.”
Aiken, who was in Los Angeles during the broadcast and was sleeping at the time, shared, “I died inside a lot that week.” He recalled Jaymes Foster waking him and telling him, “You need to wake up because Rosie just outed you on The View.”
Aiken shared, “I woke up. I was freaked out.” Looking back, however, he felt that O’Donnell was caught off guard and was talking in the heat of the moment. He shared, “I don’t have any ill feelings against Rosie. She did mean well.”
For his part, Aiken officially came out in 2008 on the cover of People, around two years after Rosie’s comment on The View. He also doesn’t appear to hold too much ill will towards the long-running talk show. He recently appeared on its September 17, 2026, episode.
What is your reaction to Clay Aiken’s recent share? Have you been following this story? Are you keeping up with The View? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest reality TV and celebrity news.
John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.