Gayle King got upset with Oprah Winfrey for refusing to shut down rumors that they were secretly dating.
During Wednesday’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast episode, the “CBS Mornings” anchor said speculation about the pair’s relationship “used to really bother” her — so much that she asked Winfrey for help.
“I would say to her, ‘You’ve got to say something on your show, because it’s hard enough for me to get a date on a Saturday night and now people think I’m a lesbian, you’ve gotta say something,’” King recalled.
But King, 71, said Winfrey, 72, felt differently and demanded they “leave” the speculation alone.
“I said, ‘Well, that’s fine for you to say. You have somebody. I don’t,’” King remembered telling Winfrey, who has been in a relationship with Stedman Graham since 1986.
While people still accuse her and Winfrey of being a couple, King has now learned to ignore the comments.
“I’ve now gotten to the point in my life that very few things get to me,” she explained.
King reiterated that there isn’t any truth to the rumors, which she said started after her 1993 divorce from William G. Bumpus, who cheated on her with one of her friends.
“If we were gay, we would tell you because believe me, there’s nothing wrong with it,” King stated. “It’s just, I prefer a man. So we would tell you.
“When you go on social media, it is an accelerator on hate,” King continued. “As long as I feel good about what I’m doing, the people I respect and trust are okay with it. Otherwise you’ll drive yourself nuts. So now I really don’t care.”
King and Winfrey’s friendship started 50 years ago when they both worked at the Baltimore-area news station WJZ-TV.
Despite Winfrey’s massive success, King insisted on the podcast that she’s never felt inferior to the billionaire.
“I never see myself in her shadow. I always say I see myself in her light,” King told listeners. “And I do mean that. I never thought, ‘God, I wish I could be her.’”
King, however, noted the pair also have many differences, such as that King likes to go out while Winfrey prefers staying in.
Later in the conversation, King said there’s nothing that could lead to the duo having a falling out.
“Once you’ve been in the inner circle of anyone’s life, it’s a really privileged place to be,” she shared. “And I hold that very sacred. I know I can trust her with anything. And she, me.”
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