Gayle King Shuts Down Rumor That She’s Leaving ‘CBS Mornings’

Gayle King has responded to the rumor that she made plans to depart from her role as co-host on CBS Mornings. In the wake of mass layoffs and departures from prominent hosts at CBS, Variety claimed that King would be exiting stage left after her contract expired in May 2026. The reported source supposedly came from “four people with knowledge of the situation.” However, when TMZ caught up with Gayle outside the CBS Broadcast Center, she was none the wiser.

“What I’m hearing in the building is not what I’m reading in the press,” King said, referencing the Variety article. “And what I’m not going to do is negotiate in the media.” According to King, CBS News executives “appreciate” her hard work and want her to stay at the network. King has “no idea,” she says, if she’ll remain with CBS after her contract expires under the new Paramount Skydance regime. “I like the job and the people that I work with,” she added, “I don’t know what to tell you.”

“There have been no discussions with Gayle about her contract that runs through May 2026,” said A CBS News spokesperson

Gayle wasn’t the only one who offered commentary on the Variety report. In a statement to PEOPLE, a CBS News spokesperson claimed, “There have been no discussions with Gayle about her contract that runs through May 2026.” The spokesperson added, “She’s a truly valued part of CBS, and we look forward to engaging with her about the future.” Earlier this week, Donald Trump signed off on a controversial merger between Paramount and Skydance — a deal worth nearly $8,000,000,000. Following its completion, the company began issuing mass layoffs.

In a memo to employees obtained by PEOPLE, David Ellison, Paramount’s CEO, wrote, “These decisions are never made lightly, especially given their effect on our colleagues who have made meaningful contributions to the company.” Ellison noted that the company is “restructuring,” and the cuts happening were to “address redundancies” across the organization. He also revealed the purge would help to “phase out roles that are no longer aligned” with Paramount’s future.