When Rosie O'Donnell joined the cast of The View, many changes were made to the program. Politics became a major topic of discussion, a theme that would continue on the show to this day. She brought in ratings thanks to the controversy that would often ignite from her comments.
At one point, this included a feud with fellow talk show host Kelly Ripa. Ripa had just done a less-than-stellar episode of Live With Regis and Kelly with temporary co-host Clay Aiken. The two didn't get along and O'Donnell had something to say in Aiken's defense.
However, Ripa would call into the show live on the same day and confront O'Donnell about her remarks.
Rosie O'Donnell Claims To Have Defended Clay Aiken When She Spoke About Kelly Ripa
In November 2006, Aiken was a guest host on Live With Regis and Kelly. Unfortunately, Aiken and Ripa didn't seem to get along. At one point, Aiken put his hand over Ripa's mouth and Ripa was visibly uncomfortable.
"I don’t know where that’s been, honey!" Ripa said.
O'Donnell reviewed this moment on The View during Hot Topics and said that she believed it was "a homophobic remark."
"If that was a straight man, if that was a cute man, if that was a guy that she didn’t question his sexuality, she would’ve said a different thing," O'Donnell said.
When speaking to Ramin Setoodeh for his book "Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View," O'Donnell shared some backstory. According to her, Aiken had been a guest on The View before his appearance on Live.
"He had come into my dressing room, crying about whether or not to come out. And I sat down with him and I talked to him," O'Donnell said.
"I hugged him. Not only do I feel the twenty-years-older mother thing, I feel the twenty-years-old younger-gay thing," she continued. "So I had just held a crying boy and then watched him be gay bashed by Kelly Ripa."
O'Donnell said that Aiken thanked her for defending him after the show. She also claimed Aiken said, "I didn’t know how to come out, so you just did it."
Clay Aiken Claims Rosie O'Donnell Outed Him On Television After He Came Out To Her
Setoodeh also spoke with Aiken for his book and he shared his own perspective on the experience. Based on Aiken's account, it's clear that he sees the situation very differently than O'Donnell does.
Aiken began by saying that a prominent news anchor warned him he might be questioned about his sexuality on The View. This made him nervous when he was a guest on the show. O'Donnell decided to speak with him privately in her dressing room, kicking out her makeup team and Aiken's bodyguard.
"She said, ‘You need to find yourself a boyfriend in North Carolina — not in New York or Los Angeles — and just live peacefully there.’ I said, ‘You’re very presumptuous, Rosie,’" Aiken said.
"She took my hand, looked me dead in the eye and with more warmth than I think people would imagine she has, she said, ‘Listen, I’m your sister.’ I teared up. It was the very first time a stranger had ever gotten me to come out to them."
Aiken said that O'Donnell then promised him that nobody would ask him about his sexuality during the show. However, Aiken said he felt O'Donnell outed him based on the way she discussed the incident between him and Ripa.
"I didn’t see it the same way that she did," Aiken said. "The truth is she outed me in a way, because I had not been out yet. When she said the words, ‘If that was a straight man,’ she was confirming that she knew that I wasn’t. That was the worst day of my life. I don’t think I’d had a moment more devastating to me. I remember feeling like s*** that day and totally defeated."
However, Aiken insisted that he wasn't mad at O'Donnell. He even revealed that O'Donnell helped him come out in a 2008 People cover story by hooking him up with her publicist.
Kelly Ripa Calls Into 'The View' To Confront Rosie About Her Comments
During the same episode in which O'Donnell accused Ripa of being homophobic, Ripa herself called into the show. Ripa defended herself and confronted O'Donnell about her comments.
"He's shaking hands with everybody in the audience; it's cold and flu season," Ripa explained. "To imply that it's homophobic is outrageous."
Barbara Walters confirmed in a future episode that Aiken had sent Ripa flowers and all was well with them.
In Setoodeh's book, O'Donnell claimed that she is less upset with Ripa and more upset with The View's executive producer for connecting the call.
"Bill Geddie thinks that makes good TV—two women fighting," O'Donnell said.
She even confronted Geddie about it.
"I said, ‘Excuse me Bill, that would be the first time that you sabotaged me live on the air. It will not happen again. If it does happen again, I will not be on the show," she said. "When it happened again, I left."
O'Donnell also said that Ripa has never been friendly with her since the incident.
"I think Kelly Ripa is mean and she doesn’t like me, and she has never wanted to discuss what happened. She wanted to have this weird feud."
O'Donnell added that she would've liked to have been friends with Ripa.
"She’s the girl from Pine Valley. She and her husband met on the show. That’s my f***ing sweet spot. I would have loved her my whole life," she said. "I see her at concerts sometimes. She just looks away."