Gayle King had a much stronger reaction than Oprah Winfrey to longstanding rumors that they are “secretly gay,” once begging her friend to shut down the widespread speculation.
King, 71, and Oprah, 72, have been best friends for 50 years. But for much of this period, rumors swirled that they were in a romantic relationship.
On a new episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, the CBS Mornings host and veteran journalist got candid about the rumors about her friendship with Oprah.
Cooper asked Gayle, “Tell me how that feels when you guys have had to handle those headlines, handle those rumors, handle that speculation.”
“It used to really bother me,” King confessed. “I was recently divorced, and there was —The National Enquirer did a story about, that’s the reason for the divorce, because they’re secretly gay. Number one, if we were gay, we would tell you because, believe me, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just, I prefer a man.”
King then told Cooper that she had asked Oprah to help her shut down the rumors.
“‘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 got to say something,’” she recalled pleading, adding that Oprah responded, “No, we should just leave it be.”
King said the rumors “used to really bother” her, but explained that she has learned to tune out the noise over the years. “Otherwise, you’ll drive yourself nuts,” she said.
“I’ve now gotten to the point in my life that very few things get to me,” she added.
Cooper posited that the people who churn the rumor mill are those who have “never had a genuine gorgeous female friendship in their life.” The podcaster also said that the allegations are “salacious” and sexist.”
The relationship between the two women has made headlines for decades.
King unpacked her friendship with Oprah, also addressing the latter’s professional success and spot on the global stage as one of the world’s most famous media personalities.
“I never see myself in her shadow. I always say I see myself in her light,” King said. “And I do mean that. I never thought, ‘God, I wish I could be her. I think I can do what she does,’ because I don’t believe that.”
The two met in 1976, when they were both working at WJZ-TV in Baltimore.
King was married to attorney William Bumpus from 1982 until 1993. Oprah has been in a relationship with Stedman Graham since 1986.
King’s marriage to Bumpus ended after she caught him cheating with one of her other close friends. She said the first person she called, after catching them together in bed, was Winfrey. “The only person I told was Oprah. The only person,” King said. “I can trust her with anything. And she, me.”
Oprah previously addressed stories about herself and King during a 2010 interview with Barbara Walters. The billionaire media personality became emotional speaking about the depth of her friendship with King. “She is the mother I never had. She is the sister everybody would want,” she said. “I don’t know a better person.”
