Rumours in the 1990s claimed Gayle King and Oprah Winfrey were secretly in a lesbian relationship. King said the speculation used to really bother her, especially after her 1993 divorce. She described a National Enquirer story linking the divorce to the rumours. King said that if she were gay she would say so, adding that she prefers a man. As the rumours gained momentum, she asked Winfrey to address them publicly because it made it harder for King to date. Winfrey chose to ignore the rumours, and King later said she reached a point where very few things affect her.
"“Well, I'll tell you this: it used to really bother me,” King admitted. “I was recently divorced,” she added, referencing her 1993 divorce from attorney William Bumpus. “The National Enquirer did a story about, 'That's the reason for the divorce, because they're secretly gay.'” King continued: “Number one, if we were gay, we would tell you. Because, believe me, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just, I prefer a man.”"
"“I would say to her, 'You've got to say something on your show, because it's hard enough for me to get a date on a Saturday night and now people think I'm a lesbian, you've gotta say something.'” She explained that Winfrey saw things differently and thought it better to ignore the rumours. “I said, 'Well, that's fine for you to say. You have somebody. I don't,'” King said."
"King and Winfrey have been close friends for decades, but rumours that the pair were in a secret lesbian relationship began circulating in the nineties. Alex Cooper, the host of Call Her Daddy, brought up the rumours with King in a 27 May episode of the podcast. “Tell me how that feels when you guys have had to handle those headlines, handle those rumours, handle that speculation,” Cooper said."
"She went on to say that the rumours picked up so much steam that she asked Winfrey to make a public statement clarifying the platonic nature of their relationship. She later said she has got to a place in her life where “very few things” get to her."
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