Gayle King Gets Backlash for Quoting Gay Slur on TV: What Did She Say?
CBS Mornings viewers may have done a spit-take on their coffee Friday morning as cohost Gayle King recited a gay slur during an interview with comedian Matteo Lane.
“Can we talk about the standup? Can I just say one joke? I hope I don’t get in trouble,” King said. “You do a riff about white women who approached you, and they said something about cooking, and you said, ‘What in the f*****ry are you talking about?’”
Lane, who was on the morning show to promote his cookbook, Your Pasta Sucks, covered his mouth and cackled in response.
“I love you, Gayle King,” he said. “It means exactly what you think it means. What in the hell? No, white women, they’re fine during the day, and then they have one sip of a rosé, and they’re like, ‘Tonight’s about me.’ And they just won’t stop. They won’t stop, I’m telling you. Horrible.”
CBS censored the slur in its later feeds of the CBS Mornings episodes and on its social media channels, according to People. But the uncensored version made its way to social media, where some viewers weren’t pleased with King quoting that part of Lane’s standup.
“Oh wow, Gayle King dropping an f-slur mid-interview while quoting a joke?” one X user wrote. “Messy move. Fam’s probably not vibing with that one.”
Someone else posted, “[What the hell] is wrong with Gayle King?”
One person wrote, “If you have to preface quoting a joke by saying ‘I hope I don’t get in trouble,’ you probably should pick another joke to quote.”
“Wow, I don’t love this,” one X user said.
And another user posted, “So… we’re okay with people using slurs if they’re quoting comedians now? Or does this only apply to gay men? I’m just saying. I’m reading the room, and a lot of you think this is cute. It’s weird how it’s always the slurs against us that get labeled as ‘not a big deal.’”
Other users, however, seemed to appreciate King’s line reading. “Bitch! Did Gayle King just say that out loud on national TV?!” one X user wrote. “I’m GAGGED! Literally, jaw dropped!”
CBS Mornings, Weekdays, 7a/6c, CBS
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