Somebody touching your face is a very personal thing, especially the mouth. And if she were in the process of speaking perhaps her tongue even grazed Clay's palm, thus her comment about germs. She is the mother of three very young children and I imagine she is vigilant about the passing of germs from one child to another, and it transferred to the situation she was in.
I do agree that it likely started with her just being angry that Clay as a guest co-host didn't appear to defer to her. I didn't see the initial comment on Monday that prompted Rosie to call her a homophobe, but I think there was more to her complaint than he put his hand on her mouth. Maybe Clay was clumsily trying to mimic the banter that goes on between Kelly with Regis. It is one thing for a person you have known for several years to touch you and quite another for a stranger to do it.
I don't disagree at all. I just think Kelly Ripa made too big a deal over the incident. She could have waited and said something about it during a break, but she is blowing this into a major incident, no doubt to boost ratings. Rosie O'Donnell is doing the same thing. What Clay Aiken did was wrong, but Ripa did make that comment. It is viewable and audible.