KELLY RIPA IN FEUD WITH CLAY AIKEN & ROSIE O’DONNELL

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Rosie O’Donnell is criticizing Kelly Ripa for making what O’Donnell calls a homophobic remark towards Clay Aiken. On Friday, Nov. 17, Aiken substituted for talk-show host Regis Philbin on Live! With Regis and Kelly. Aiken, desperate to chime in during an interview, put his hand over Ripa’s mouth so he could begin his own line of questions. Kelly responded by declaring, “Oh, that’s a no-no,” then adding, “I don’t know where that hand’s been, Honey!”

Ripa addressed Aiken’s actions on Monday’s show, saying, “There was some impropriety there. There was a lack of respect, and when you’re a certain person, you’re in the public eye, you have to be respectful of other people and I don’t think he was respectful in any way.”

On The View Tuesday morning, Rosie O’Donnell said, “To me that’s 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 have said a different thing.” (Aiken does not discuss his sexuality publicly.)

Ripa called in to the live show to defend herself arguing that she’s just germ-conscious. “I have three kids (and) he’s shaking hands with everybody in the audience. It’s cold and flu season. That’s what I meant, and to imply that it’s homophobic is outrageous, Rosie. And you know better. You should be more responsible.”