Clay Aiken's Tantrum Over Magazine's Personal Questions

Clay Aiken's Tantrum Over Magazine's Personal Questions 1/14/08

Singer Clay Aiken cut short an interview with a Newsweek magazine reporter after refusing to answer a series of personal questions.

Journalist Ramin Setoodeh was quizzing the American Idol star on his upcoming Broadway debut in Monty Python's Spamalot when the reporter chose to ask Aiken about a series of recent controversies.

These included a fight Aiken allegedly had with a woman on a plane and ongoing speculation about his sexuality, which culminated in a spat between U.S. TV hosts Rosie O'Donnell and Kelly Ripa.

Gay O'Donnell rushed to defend Aiken after Ripa appeared to attack the singer's rumored homosexuality when he was a co-host on her morning show.

But Aiken took offence to Setoodeh's questions, repeating, "I'm not going to talk about it," or, "I'm not going to discuss it."

He then turned on the reporter when he asked Aiken what he wanted to talk about, hissing, "We're done. I thought Newsweek would be more reputable. I'm surprised. This is Newsweek. It's not the National Enquirer."

He added, "I'd hate to have a job where I had to be rude to people."

When Setoodeh attempted to save the interview by asking Aiken what he did for fun, the angry singer replied, "I watch the news. I read news magazines, but I'm reconsidering that now."