Gayle King Talks Recent Criticism w/ Oprah Winfrey: “I Never Lost Sight Of Who I Was”

Gayle King, Oprah Winfrey

Gayle King Talks Recent Criticism w/ Oprah Winfrey: “I Never Lost Sight Of Who I Was”

Gayle King has been quiet since her viral incident led to threats and backlash from celebrities.

The CBS This Morning host stirred up more than controversy when she pressed WNBA star, Lisa Leslie, about 2003 sexual assault allegations against late NBA icon Kobe Bryant.

After receiving overwhelming backlash, she pointed the finger at CBS.

Now, she’s speaking out again about the criticism. This time, it was with her BFF Oprah Winfrey for the final stop of her 2020 Vision: Your Life In Focus Tour in Denver.

In a first look at the interview obtained by PEOPLE, Gayle King said it was a “very painful” moment but added,

“I have moved on. 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.”

Oprah Winfrey shared her thoughts and said it’s even more hurtful when “good people” stay silent. Gayle King continued,

“I think we can disagree politically, we can disagree socially, if you want to, but I just think humanity should prevail always. I think we still have to figure out a way to navigate that with each other. That we can disagree, and you can be mad at me even, but you can’t speak to me the way I was spoken to and threatened.”