Gayle King looked stressed as she rushed to work amid controversy over Ta-Nehisi Coates’ heated interview.
The CBS Mornings co-host was spotted outside the CBS studio in New York City wearing the same outfit she wore on air for Tuesday’s broadcast.
King, 69, wore a colorful ensemble that included a purple knit cardigan, pink wide-leg pants and red sneakers.
She accessorized with a snakeskin purse and red-framed glasses, and carried a late-model iPhone with a light blue case printed with a huge white G.
King was returning to Studio 1515 One in Times Square, where his show is filmed, around 3 p.m., six hours after the morning broadcast ended.
Gayle King looked stressed as she hurried through the streets amid controversy over Ta-Nehisi Coates’ heated interview.
The veteran news anchor has been under pressure this past week for her role in co-host Tony Dokoupil’s tense interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates.
The veteran news anchor has been under pressure this past week for her role in co-host Tony Dokoupil’s tense interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Coates was on the show on September 30 to discuss his new book, The Message, which is highly critical of Israel and its invasion of Gaza.
Dokoupil who converted to Judaism and whose ex-wife and children live in Israel – accused Coates of being an “extremist” and attacked him for not including an Israeli perspective.
King remained mostly silent during the heated exchange, but Coates later claimed he tried to warn him about the interview’s line of questioning.
Coates told Trevor Noah on his show that the host approached him before the interview and told him what she wanted to ask.
‘Gayle came backstage before we went, and she had read the book. And I’m not saying I agreed with the book. She told me, “I want to ask you about this, I want to ask you about that,” she said.
King, 69, wore a colorful ensemble that included a purple knit cardigan, pink wide-leg pants and red sneakers.
King aired earlier Tuesday, wearing the same outfit minus the purple cardigan.
Ironically, Coates was trying to defend King, claiming that Dokoupil ‘took over’ the interview and King was unable to ask anything she planned.
‘What went wrong in that interview, more than anything, as far as I’m concerned, is, and I know she’s getting a lot of shit right now, so I really want to say this. “Gayle King is a great journalist and a great interviewer,” Coates said.
Coates said King came well prepared with ‘handwritten notes,’ before her co-host derailed the segment.
But her defense of King inadvertently opened her up to criticism about whether she should have told him something she planned to ask about.
CBS defended her from criticism, calling her “one of America’s most respected journalists” and describing what she did as standard procedure.
‘She is known for her meticulous preparation and note-taking. “She reads the books, consumes the content to be discussed and prepares extensively for each interview on CBS Mornings,” the network told DailyMail.com.
‘Engaging pre-segment conversations with guests is standard practice for any experienced host. Talking about a guest’s work ahead of time is a common way to establish rapport.”
King remained mostly silent during the heated exchange (pictured), but Coates later claimed he tried to warn him about the interview’s line of questioning.
Dokoupi, who has since apologized to staff for his behavior, was reprimanded by CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon, who said he “did not meet editorial standards for impartiality.”
But McMahon and head of news gathering Adrienne Roark were publicly criticized by Paramount president Shari Redstone, who said a “mistake” had been made and the episode was “not handled properly.”
Redstone also called Dokoupil to tell him he supported him, but expressed his doubts to Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks.
Cheeks defended McMahon, saying she and her leadership team are “passionate advocates and stewards of CBS News standards” and “that will not change.”
The controversy led to an interview he did with the father of a girl who was kidnapped by Hamas in the October 7 attack on Israel.
The resurfaced clip of King interviewing Thomas Hand in November 2023 about the kidnapping of his eight-year-old daughter Emily by Hamas sparked accusations of a CBS double standard.
The criticism arose after Coates told Trevor Noah on his show that King approached him before the interview and told him what he wanted to ask.
Dokoupil, whose two children and ex-wife live in Israel, was quick to criticize the author.
The hostage was returned safely to her family 50 days after being kidnapped during the massacre that killed 1,200 people and sparked the ongoing conflict.
“Now it seems that all this has to do with politics. What do you say about that? You know, there are innocent Palestinian children who are dying, innocent Israeli children who are dying. And no one seems to be able to say, “Enough, enough of that,” King asked.
Hand laughed nervously and replied: ‘I’m not interested in politics at all. My only concern is getting Emily back.
Emily was returned safely to her family a few weeks later, 50 days after being kidnapped during the massacre that killed 1,200 people and sparked the current conflict between Israel and Hamas.
But King’s tough line of questioning, which was backed up by his bosses at CBS Mornings, drew the ire of some viewers.
Jewish Insider correspondent Lahav Harkov claimed that King’s conversation with Hand showed a double standard in how the two interviews were handled.
“It violates CBS standards for Tony Dokoupil to ask Ta-Nehisi Coates tough questions about his anti-Israel speech, but apparently it was totally fine for Gayle King to make accusations at a hostage’s father, who said nothing derogatory about Palestinians,” said. saying.
