Oprah Winfrey became visibly upset when she revealed that her best friend Gayle King has been receiving death threats since a clip of her interview with WBNA star was released on the internet.
Winfrey sat down with with “Hoda & Jenna & Friends” on Friday, and detailed the difficult situation King has found herself in as the backlash against her has intensified even after King posted a video explaining her side of the story.
When asked how her best friend was doing, Oprah shared, “She is not doing well,” Winfrey said while tearing up. “She now has death threats and has to now travel with security, and she’s feeling very much attacked. You know, Bill Cosby is tweeting from jail.” Winfrey continued.
Winfrey defended King and explained that her friend was out in a really terrible position since the salacious clip of the interview was released without providing proper context.
“In the context of the interview, everyone seemed fine, including Lisa Leslie. And it was only because somebody at the network put up that clip. And I can see how people would obviously be very upset if you thought that Gayle was just trying to press to get an answer from Lisa Leslie,” Winfrey continued. “Obviously, all things pass, she will be okay, but she hasn’t slept in two days.”
Winfrey emphasized that the problem comes when “the misogynist vitriol and the attacking” disguised as defending the late basketball player, and it reaches the point “where it is dangerous to be in the streets alone.”
“It’s not just the people who are attacking. It’s the other people who take that message and feel like they can do whatever they want to because of it, you know?” she added.
Winfrey contends that she will continue to stand by her friend as she needs it.
“You know, I was on the phone with her this morning, I was on the phone with her last night, I was on the phone with her the night before,” Winfrey said. “I think you stand in the gap; you try to be there for your friends. But this is very hard, because when you have social media and the force of social media, and particularly people who didn’t see either interview, making attacks.”
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