Gayle King is hoping to clear the air after having kept a low profile since making her controversial remarks about Kobe Bryant just days after his death.
During an interview with WNB star Lisa Leslie, Gayle had questioned her about the former NBA star’s past sexual assault case and how the allegations could affect his legacy following the helicopter crash on January 26, killing all nine people on board, including Kobe’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
Viewers were profoundly upset that Gayle would utilize her platform on “CBS This Morning” to offer such uncaring remarks when it hadn’t even been a week since Kobe’s passing, which later sparked a movement to boycott the daytime TV show.
The 65-year-old was flooded with death threats from people all over the world, which later led her good friend Oprah Winfrey to try and diffuse the situation by stressing to the public that Gayle felt horrible for how her comments had been perceived.
And over the weekend, when Oprah’s “2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus” tour made its stop in Denver, Colorado over the weekend, Gayle was one of the guest speakers, who shared her thoughts on the aftermath to her interview with Leslie going viral.
“I have moved on. Is there a scab? Yeah,” the TV journalist explained to Oprah and her thousands of fans in the audience.
“But I have moved on. I put on my game face and my big girl pants, because I never lost sight of who I was, what I believe I am, and my intention. I’ve never lost sight of that. But it certainly was a learning curve, and it was very painful.”
Oprah later chimed in and mentioned how “good people” had stood silent while Gayle suffered in her misery and left her to fight the battle on her own, which the billionaire mogul said was extremely hurtful to watch, particularly since everybody tends to make mistakes.
Truth be told, Oprah was one of the few people who spoke out in public and defended Gayle when celebrities, such as Snoop Dogg, shared their not-so-nice comments in response to her remarks about Kobe’s legacy.
“What do you gain from that?” Snoop expressed. “I swear to God, we are the worst. We expect more from you – don’t you hang out with Oprah? Why are you attacking us? You ain’t coming after f** Harvey Weinstein asking them dumb a questions.”
He concluded his rant, saying: “Respect the family and back off, b****, before we come get you.”
And while Snoop has since apologized for his comments in a recent episode of Jada Pinkett-Smith’s “Red Table Talk,” Gayle was still left to deal with the scrutiny, especially after dozens of celebrities had voiced their public opinions.
During their chat on the tour stop in Denver, Oprah continued to tell her longtime pal: “In every circumstance, I think this is something for us to remember. It’s not the people who are being mean, it’s not the badness, it’s not the vitriol that’s being put into the world, but it’s the good people who remain silent that becomes so hurtful.”
