Oprah Winfrey broke down in tears while discussing her bestie Gayle King‘s troubles on Friday.
King, 65, was heavily criticized and “cancelled” on social media in response to a video clip of her interview with former WNBA star Lisa Leslie.
Winfrey, 66, choked up during an appearance on “Today” with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. She described the harsh backlash against King, who asked Leslie if Kobe Bryant‘s NBA legacy would be “complicated” by old rape allegations from 2003.
“She’s not doing well,” Winfrey said as she teared up. “She is not doing well because she now has death threats and has to travel with security. She is feeling very much attacked.”
Winfrey was referring to the savage online bullying fueled by rude rappers such as Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, and even NBA star LeBron James.
King said she planned to have intense discussions with CBS over their choice of promos clips.
“I am mortified. I am embarrassed and I am very angry. Unbeknownst to me, my network put up a clip from a very wide-ranging interview – totally taken out of context – and when you see it that way, it’s very jarring. It’s jarring to me. I didn’t even know anything about it.”
CBS was quick to respond to King’s allegations on Thursday.
“Gayle conducted a thoughtful, wide-ranging interview with Lisa Leslie about the legacy of Kobe Bryant. An excerpt was posted that did not reflect the nature and tone of the full interview. We are addressing the internal process that led to this and changes have already been made.”
