Gayle King says she was frustrated by Oprah Winfrey’s refusal to shut down lesbian relationship rumors

Gayle King has revealed that she was once frustrated by Oprah Winfrey’s refusal to publicly address longstanding rumors that the two were romantically involved.

The 71-year-old journalist admitted the speculation “used to really bother” her, so much so that after divorcing attorney William G. Bumpus in 1993, she begged Oprah to speak out about it publicly.

Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, King recalled saying to her longtime friend,“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.”

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According to King, Oprah, who has been in a longtime relationship with Stedman Graham, felt it was better to ignore the gossip altogether. King remembered pushing back at the time, telling the media mogul, “Well, that’s fine for you to say. You have somebody. I don’t.”

The CBS Mornings anchor explained that the speculation intensified after her divorce, with one publication even falsely claiming the rumors were the reason her marriage ended.

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Still, King made it clear the claims were completely untrue, while also emphasizing that there would’ve been nothing wrong if they were. “If we were gay, we would tell you, because believe me, there’s nothing wrong with it,” she said. “It’s just, I prefer a man. So we would tell you.”

King added that she’s since learned not to give the accusations emotional weight, despite social media making it easier for misinformation to spread quickly. “When you go on social media, it is an accelerator on hate,” she said.

“As long as I feel good about what I’m doing, and the people I respect and trust are okay with it, otherwise you’ll drive yourself nuts. So now I really don’t care.”

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King and Oprah, 72, have been close friends since first meeting in 1976. But despite Oprah’s legendary career and headline-making interviews with stars including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Tom Cruise, King said she’s never felt overshadowed by her friend’s success.

“I never see myself in her shadow. I always say I see myself in her light,” she said. “And I do mean that. I never thought, ‘God, I wish I could be her.’”