I took the following article from a search on ABCNews.com . I saw the interview with Diane Sawyer and Clay Aiken. I saw none of what you guys are speaking of, nor did I sense what PETA is proclaiming. Here is an article from a local newspaper (his hometown).

Local SPCA Defends Clay Aiken
PETA Attacks Singer After Cat Comments

POSTED: 11:48 AM EST November 21, 2003
UPDATED: 12:26 PM EST November 21, 2003

GARNER, N.C. -- The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Wake County is defending Clay Aiken in the recent uproar over his statement to Rolling Stone comparing cats to Satan.

After the magazine article, the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals targeted Aiken in an ad that promotes neutering for pets. The ad said, "Get neutered -- It didn't hurt Clay Aiken."

Mondy Lamb, spokeswoman for the SPCA of Wake County, said Aiken's words in Rolling Stone were taken out of context.

The quote most often pulled from the magazine is, "I think cats are Satan. There's nothing worse to me than a house cat. When I was about 16, I had a kitten and ran over it."

Aiken goes on to say, "Seeing that cat die, I actually think that its spirit has haunted me. I wasn't afraid of cats before. But now they scare me to death."

"The SPCA approaches situations like this on a daily basis as an opportunity to educate people," Lamb said. "We meet many people who have a strong dislike of dogs who then go on to say that they were bitten by a dog as a child. When the SPCA pursues the line of questioning, the people readily acknowledge their personal childhood trauma does not make all dogs bad.

"Reading the whole quote paints quite a different picture than the PETA ad would indicate. Were Aiken's words poorly phrased? Sure they were. But obviously the act of accidentally killing his cat still bothers him."