Entertainment

Clay Aiken says Kelly Ripa feud sparked ‘most catastrophic week’ of his life

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Clay Aiken spoke out about the moment he contentiously placed his hand over Kelly Ripa’s mouth more than two decades after their intense on-air clash on “Live with Regis and Kelly” in 2006.

The “American Idol” alum, 47, recalled stepping in as a co-host on the daytime show and attempting to stop Ripa from talking so he could ask their guests questions.

When asked if they had spoken since, he responded on Wednesday’s podcast episode of “Hollywood Raw,” “No. I didn’t have the problem.”

Aiken, who has been active in the New York City Broadway scene and society, explained he’s seen Ripa, 55, at some events.

“Maybe I should feel bad that I have not gone up and said something myself, but she hasn’t either,” he said. “We’re talking about something that happened — 20 years ago — which became this huge blowup.”

“That was the most catastrophic week of my life,” the musician added. “No one would remember but me because I was the one with the scars.”

“I’m on the show because I wanted to show them I could handle this myself; I could host something and I wasn’t getting to talk,” he said.

“Like, there were cue cards. They had my name on them. So I tried to be funny, and I did what I did, which was incredibly innocent. And then it got a little cold in the room.”

Aiken admitted that he felt bad and was “worried” that he had upset Ripa after seeing the audience “frozen.”

“Is that a no-no?” Aiken asked Ripa at the time, to which she responded, “Oh, that’s a no, no, no. Don’t know where that hand’s been, honey.”

The TV personality shared on the podcast that he didn’t remember how he and Ripa parted ways, but it wasn’t until the following week, when the latter’s co-host, Regis Philbin, had returned, that the situation escalated.

At the time, Philbin, who died in 2020, and Ripa discussed Aiken’s “hostility.”

“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,” Ripa told her co-host.

“And I don’t think that he was respectful in any way. If that upsets his fans, I’m sorry to hear that, but you don’t put your hands over somebody’s face and mouth when they’re conducting an interview, even if it’s for a laugh. And that’s all I’m gonna say.”

Then the following day, Rosie O’Donnell addressed the incident on “The View” and referred to Ripa as “homophobic” despite Aiken not having been out yet.

Ripa responded to the actress by calling into the talk show to defend herself, stating, “I have three kids. He’s shaking hands with everybody in the audience.”

“I mean, it’s cold and flu season. That’s what I meant. To imply that it’s anything homophobic is outrageous, Rosie, and you know better. You should be more responsible,” the TV personality told O’Donnell.

Recalling the “blow up,” Aiken said, “I was not out at the time. I was to Rosie … I was out to people who I knew, but I wasn’t publicly out about it.”

“I was not out to my grandparents and the people in my family. And not only does Rosie call it a homophobic remark — which I think she accidentally said, and then she tried to walk it back a little bit — but then Kelly calls in live to ‘The View’ that day and they get in an argument over it.”

The actor added, “Not only did she out me, but they had a big argument about whether I was gay and who talked about me being gay.”

That same week, Aiken reflected on how his “wonderful publicist” and interns did “great work” on finding videos of Ripa placing her hand over Philbin’s mouth throughout the years and sending the clips to the media.

“The tides sort of turned,” Aiken said, explaining that he then sent Ripa flowers, which she thanked him for and allegedly apologized for “blowing” the situation out of proportion.

Per Aiken, Ripa extended an olive branch to him and an offer to return to the show. However, the Broadway star alleged that he’s “tried” to appear on the show but has been unable to return.

A rep for Ripa wasn’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.

Entertainment

‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 finale: Helaena, Ormund’s fate revealed

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Warning: Spoilers ahead! Do not proceed unless you’ve watched the Season 3 finale of “House of the Dragon.“

“House of the Dragon” ended its penultimate season with fire and blood.

In the Season 3 finale of the “Game of Thrones” prequel show, which aired Sunday night, Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) seemingly died in an apparent suicide by jumping out of a castle window.

All season long, Helaena, who was pregnant, was basically a prisoner of her half-sister, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy).

As Rhaenyra took the throne and asserted her rule, she kept a tight leash on Helaena, who had been on the other side of the war.

Shut in the castle, Helaena — a “dreamer” who could see the future — became increasingly more distressed. Shortly before her death, Helaena had a contentious meeting with Rhaenyra in which she criticized the queen, telling her “all the things you care about are ugly.”

As she refused to eat, Rhaenyra had guards force-feed Helaena.

Helaena’s death wasn’t explicitly shown but, at the end of the episode, she slowly walked to the window. Later, her dead body shown below it.

Before her death, Helaena had been working on a piece of embroidery, stitching images from her visions of the future. Rhaenyra was aware of Helaena’s powers and, after her death, glanced at the embroidery.

One of the images Helaena had stitched showed her plummeting from a castle window. Another image showed Rhaenyra holding a sword on the Iron Throne, surrounded by flames.

The episode ended with the queen studying the prophetic image of herself.

“House of the Dragon” is set almost 200 years before “Game of Thrones,” and follows Targaryen siblings in a civil war over who is the rightful monarch.

The main conflict is between Rhaenyra and her half-brother, Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney).

As Aegon was Helaena’s brother and husband — those Targaryens and their incest — that meant she was on his side of the feud by default, despite her not being active in the war.

To make things more complicated, Season 3 added a third contender for the throne: Aegon’s long-lost brother and Rhaenyra’s half-brother: Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth).

In the middle of Season 3, Daeron’s evil guardian, Ormund Hightower (James Norton), took over the market town, Tumbleton, and hatched a plan to put Daeron in power.

In the finale, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) — both uncle and husband to Queen Rhaenyra — and his army marched on the town, sparking a bloody battle with Ormund and his forces.

Ormund was fatally slain by Roderick Dustin (Tommy Flanagan), also known as Roddy the Ruin, who fights on behalf of Rhaenyra and Daemon.

Roderick died in the process of killing Ormund — and got his arm cut off during the tussle (ouch).

Before Ormund died, however, he persuaded Ulf White (Tom Bennett) — a dragon rider on Rhaenyra and Daemon’s side — to turn traitor.

Daemon and his forces thought Ulf would fight with them but, instead, he flamed them with his dragon, leading to mass death and destruction.

Tumbleton was reduced to rubble and carnage by the end of the Season 3 finale, though Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) and Daeron seemingly both survived.

Season 3 ended with Rhaenyra still tentatively holding her grip on power, losing half-sister Helaena and one of her loyal dragon riders in Ulf — and her future ahead looks bumpy.

Her other dragon rider, Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew), lost his wife in the battle at Tumbleton, so he likely won’t be too happy about continuing to fight for Rhaenyra.

Aegon, who had been MIA all season, also met up with his brother, Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), and pitched him a plan to join forces and overthrow the queen.

The HBO series will end with the forthcoming Season 4, which will premiere at an unannounced date, most likely in 2028.

Before Season 3 premiered, showrunner Ryan Condal said he understood fans’ frustration with the two-year gaps between seasons.

During a pre-season Television Critics Association press conference that Page Six attended, he said, “It just takes a long time to make.”

He explained that “prep and shooting” take a year, followed by an additional “seven months [to] eight months” for the special effects team “to make dragons.”

Condal urged haters to “do the math.”

“It’s not possible to come out every year,” he said. “I’m very sorry, but you guys decided to be fans of the show called ‘House of the Dragon.’”

Entertainment

‘Highlander’ star Christopher Lambert, 69, collapses at Pittsburgh Comic-Con

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“Highlander” actor Christopher Lambert suffered a medical emergency while attending the Steel City Comic-Con in Pittsburgh.

At the annual convention on Saturday, the French actor, 69, was signing autographs for fans when he “suddenly collapsed,” a witness told TMZ.

Lambert was then placed in an ambulance and transported to a local hospital.

The Steel City Con also released a statement about the incident, saying Lambert “had to leave the event due to a personal issue.”

The comic book and pop culture convention also announced that Lambert’s photo op was canceled.

A rep for the “Mortal Kombat” star told TMZ that he is “perfectly ok” and resting in his hotel room.

The spokesperson claimed that Lambert did not get enough sleep the night before the convention and hadn’t eaten much during the day, which prompted his blood sugar to drop.

It’s unclear whether Lambert will attend the convention on Sunday; however, the outlet was told that he will be well enough to make his scheduled appearance at FAN EXPO in Chicago next week.

Page Six has reached out to Lambert’s rep for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Last year, Lambert suffered a health scare when he injured his back after falling down a flight of stairs at his hotel.

Due to the severity of the injury, the “Highlander II: The Quickening” star had to drop out of an appearance at the Swedish festival SciFiWorld last March.

“As an actor, filming and promoting his films are an absolute priority and has always been, and while he has the highest respect for people organizing events and fans who attend,” his reps said at the time.

“Unfortunately this time he will not be able to attend the comic con,” they added.

Entertainment

QVC host reacts to viral on-air blooper

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QVC host Toni Brattin has publicly commented on her viral on-air blooper that saw her mistakenly refer to a “blowout” as a “blowjob” during a wig presentation.

“When we’re doing a show, your mind is going 50 directions,” she told TMZ in a remote interview published Thursday.

“You’re thinking of your models, you’re thinking of the mannequin heads going through the colors, you’re thinking of the next positioning to get all the information out to the customers that they’re wanting, right?”

Brattin explained, “So your brain is really kind of multi-functioning, and you’re kind of in autopilot when you’re talking because you’ve said this so many times.”

Brattin admitted that in the moment, “You almost say to yourself, ‘Did I just say what I think I said?’”

“It was one of those moments, and of course, you can’t grab those words back,” she went on. “They’re out there.”

“I tried to real quick correct it and say the correct terminology — ‘a blowout at your salon’ — but by then, obviously, everyone caught it,” Brattin continued. “I was hearing snickering and then when you’re not supposed to laugh, it just makes it that much more funny.”

Brattin noted that the QVC team was “so kind” following the incident, which she explained “of course” wasn’t “intentional.”

“I mean, I’ve only been doing this for almost 30 years,” she said. “So to have a blooper like this just innocently come out, you have to go with it.

Brattin said the team told her, “I hope you’re able to not be mortified and that you can laugh about it today and in the future,” and told her she did “a great job throwing it over to [her] show host.”

Brattin was showcasing a “Salon Select Wig” from the back on Wednesday, teasing the wig with her fingers and noting its silky wave pattern and smooth texture, when she blurted out, “Again, it looks like you went and got a blowjob at your … blowout … at your salon.”

The wig designer, clearly flustered by the suggestive verbal slipup, froze up before dropping to the studio floor after the mortifying incident, as a model and co-host Teri Conn attempted to stifle giggles.

Following the gaffe, the TV personality’s husband didn’t miss a chance to make a joke of it.

During a “CBS Mornings” interview earlier this week, she recalled him waiting for her in the green room, where he told her “there’s a bar of soap waiting for you in your dressing room.”

“You know, we all make mistakes from time to time,” she added. “This one, after 30 years, just happens to be my biggest blooper ever.”