Gayle King Says Oprah Winfrey Refused to Dispel Rumors They Were 'Secretly Gay' on TV: 'It Used to Really Bother Me'

Gayle King is opening up once again about the long-running rumors surrounding her friendship with Oprah Winfrey.

During the Wednesday, May 27, episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, the CBS Mornings co-host reflected on how deeply the speculation affected her and why the media icon never wanted to shut them down publicly on television.

“It used to really bother me. I was recently divorced and the National Enquirer did a story about [how] that’s the reason for the divorce, because they’re secretly gay,” King shared.

“Number one, if we were gay, we would tell you, because believe me, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just that I prefer a man. I prefer a man,” she explained.

King admitted she once begged Winfrey to directly address the rumors during an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show because she felt the gossip was affecting her dating life.

“I used to say to Oprah, ‘You gotta do a show on this, 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,’” King recalled.

According to King, Winfrey didn’t think the rumors deserved attention and encouraged her to “just leave it be.”

Though the situation frustrated her at the time, King explained that she no longer lets online opinions get under her skin.

“I’ve now gotten to the point in my life that very few things get to me. Because, you know, when you go on social media, it is an accelerator on hate,” she said.

“I feel good about what I'm doing, the people I respect and trust are OK with it — who will say, 'Well, Mom, maybe you shouldn't have done that,' or somebody whose opinion I value,” she explained. “Otherwise, you'll drive yourself nuts. So now I really don't care.”

The longtime friends have openly joked about the rumors over the years.

In July 2024, while appearing in Melinda French Gates’ “Moments That Make Us” interview series, both women reflected on how long they’ve dealt with the speculation.

“I think we've shared pretty much everything and I would have to say, it wasn't even a matter of navigation,” Winfrey said at the time. “You know, for years, people used to say we were gay, and listen, we were up against that forever. And people still may think it.”

King playfully echoed the same thought during the conversation.

“I used to say to Oprah, 'You gotta do a show on this, because it's hard enough for me to get a date on Saturday night with people thinking we're gay,'” she joked. “Because if we were gay, we'd tell you!”

The pair even poked fun at the rumors during a memorable 2010 camping episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show filmed in Yosemite National Park.

As the two prepared to sleep inside a pop-up camper, King jokingly said, “Let's just add to that lesbian rumor.”

Without missing a beat, Winfrey replied, “Lesbian rumors!”

“Come on in, baby!” King teased.

Their decades-long friendship first began nearly 50 years ago while both were working at WJZ-TV in Baltimore. Winfrey previously revealed she invited King to stay at her apartment during a snowstorm when they were younger.

“We ended up talking all night long,” Winfrey told People. “We've literally been friends ever since.”