For the last few days, the Internet has exploded debating weather or not reporter Gayle King’s recent interview with the late Kobe Bryant’s close friend, Lisa Leslie, was “respectful.”
From rappers to athletes, and even Gayle King herself— everyone seemed to have something to say about the CBS interview. Gayle, following the recent death of the five-time NBA champion, who was killed along with his daughter Gianna, 13, and seven others in a helicopter crash, last sat down with one of his close friends WNBA star Lisa Leslie to discuss his legacy.
Despite the “wide-ranging” interview that aired Tuesday, much of the remarks have been negative, accusing Gayle of selectively questioning Lisa and condemning the legacy of Bryant.
Recently, rapper Snoop Dogg following the lead of 50 Cent and BoosieBadass went on the attack. Snoop even defended other famous black male celebrities like Bill Cosby and Russell Simmons, who were also accused of sexual violence against women. Snoop took to his Instagram to post a video where he addressed Gayle directly, saying, “Gayle King, you out of pocket for that sh*t, way out of pocket,” Snoop said. “What do you gain from that? I swear to God, we the worst. We the f**king worst. We expect more from you, Gayle.”
His rant got nastier as Snoop continues, “Don’t you hang out with Oprah? Why y’all attacking us? We your people! You ain’t come after f**king Harvey Weinstein asking them dumb a** questions.” Snoop then added to call King a “Funky doghead bi*ch” and he further added, “Respect the family and back off b*tch before we come get you.”
Snoop also posted several pictures of Ms. King, as well as her friend Oprah Winfrey, posing with Harvey Weinstein, the film mogul who has been accused by more than 90 women of sexual misconduct, including rape and harassment.
The outrage began after the CBS network released a snippet of the upcoming interview to promote the piece. In it, Gayle asked Lisa if she believed Bryant’s legacy is “complicated” because of the case.
Leslie replied, “It’s not complicated for me at all.” Leslie went on to say that she doesn’t believe Kobe was the “kind of guy” to “violate a woman or be aggressive in that way,” she concluded by requesting that media focus on his life, not the allegations.
Gayle even offered her take on the clip, calling it salacious and urging viewers to watch the interview in its entirety.
Taking to her Instagram, the veteran reporter provided her take on the matter. “For the network to take the most salacious part when taken out of context and put it up online for people ? who didn’t see the interview ? is very upsetting to me, and that’s something I’m going to have to deal with them. There will be intense discussion about that.”
Despite providing her explanation, many, especially in the Black community, have been unforgiving.
Bill Cosby has also added his voice to the conversation from prison via his Twitter account. Not only did he thanked Snoop Dogg, but he also seemingly called out Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King.
. @SnoopDogg
when they brought me to my gated community and placed me inside of my penthouse, they didn’t win nor did they silence me. It’s so sad and disappointing that successful Black Women are being used to tarnish the image and legacy of successful Black Men even in death.— Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) February 6, 2020
Are these people that in need of fame, ratings and/or money? On behalf of myself, Camille and my family, thank you, thank you and thank you. My heartfelt prayers are with Kobe and his family, as well as with Michael Jackson and his family. May their legacies live on forever.
— Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) February 6, 2020
