Gayle King Calls Kobe Bryant Backlash "Hateful" & "Painful"

After Gayle King brought up Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case from the 1990s in an interview with WNBA icon Lisa Leslie, the backlash was swift. It was only weeks after the world learned of the tragic deaths of the Los Angeles Lakers star, his daughter Gianna, and seven of their friends, so many believed Gayle’s probing about the scandal was in poor taste. What followed was a tsunami of criticism, including a viral video of Snoop Dogg unleashing his anger. The rapper would later apologize for his comments and explained his thoughts behind his scathing words on Red Table Talk.

Oprah Winfrey’s “2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus Tour” had its final stop in Denver, Colorado over the weekend. Gayle King was the featured guest of the sold-out discussion and the two best friends talked about Gayle’s recent controversy. “The intention certainly didn’t align with the impact and the fallout from that, but what got to me what the vitriol and the vulgarity that was just unleashed at me in ways that I couldn’t even understand where that was coming from,” Gayle said. She doesn’t mind if people disagree with her methods or a story she’s covering but insists the hateful words she experienced weren’t acceptable.

“I have moved on,” she added. “Is there a scab? Yeah. 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. I think sometimes you have to go through that. That makes you question things in life.”

Watch a brief clip of the talk between Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King below.