Fran Drescher has claimed her comments about being kidnapped by aliens were a joke.

The 'Nanny' star was ridiculed for recently declaring she and her gay ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson were drawn to each other because they both had extra-terrestrial encounters when they were younger but Fran insists it was a gag that was misunderstood.

She tweeted: "I'm a Comedian& if u don't believe me ask my alien ;) lol. So crazy how EVERYONE has jumped on this aliens BS. (sic)".

Fran originally told the Huffington Post that she and Peter both saw aliens when they were teenagers.

She said: "You know, it's funny because Peter and I both saw aliens before we knew each other; doing the same thing, driving on the road with our dads,'' she said.

"We were both in junior high. A few years later, we met, and we realised that we had the same experience. I think that somehow we were programmed to meet. We both have this scar. It's the exact same scar on the exact same spot.''