Gayle King Says She and Oprah Disagreed on How to Handle Gay Rumors

The CBS Mornings co-host told Alex Cooper's “Call Her Daddy” podcast that she and Oprah Winfrey clashed over whether to address decades of speculation about their friendship — and who wanted to stay quiet.

Gayle King discussed longstanding rumors about her relationship with Oprah Winfrey on the May 2026 episode of Alex Cooper's 'Call Her Daddy' podcast.
King said the two women disagreed on how to respond to speculation that they are secretly in a romantic relationship.
The rumors have circulated for decades, given the pair's close, publicly documented friendship.
King indicated she favored addressing the rumors more directly than Winfrey did.
The interview marks one of King's more candid public discussions of the subject.

Gayle King told Alex Cooper's “Call Her Daddy” podcast this month that she and Oprah Winfrey do not agree on what to do about it when people say they are secretly gay.

The CBS Mornings co-host, 69, described a dispute between the two over how — or whether — to respond to speculation that has followed their friendship for roughly four decades. King said she favored engaging with the rumors. Winfrey, per King's account, did not.

The “Call Her Daddy” episode published May 27, 2026. Cooper's podcast, distributed by Spotify, routinely books guests for extended personal disclosures; King's appearance fits the format.

King has been married twice, most recently to lawyer William Bumpus, from whom she divorced in 1993 after he admitted to an extramarital affair. Winfrey has been in a long-term relationship with Stedman Graham since 1986. Neither fact has historically quieted the speculation King was discussing.

King did not, by any account of the interview, say the rumors were true. She said she and her best friend of roughly 50 years disagree on whether to keep saying they are not.