Gayle King is taking heat on social media over her surprising use of a homophobic slur on live television.
King, who hosts ‘CBS Mornings,’ interviewed comedian Matteo Lane this past Thursday ahead of the premiere of his stand-up special, which will air on streaming platform Hulu next month.
A clip from the segment has gone viral online due to King’s reference to one of Lane’s jokes. The joke includes a homophobic slur, which King actually blurted out while speaking to the comedian, making use of a creative spin on the “F” word.
Check her out in the video below:
Gayle King says a homophobic slur in a recent interview. pic.twitter.com/5cyvYy5KxF
— Pop Base Updates (@PopBaseUpdates) April 5, 2025
Lane, who is openly gay, laughed at the reference, but folks online did not find it funny.
“Wow, I don’t love this,” an X user wrote in the comments.
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Wow, I don’t love this
— Avery • 🇨🇦 (@AverySwift13) April 4, 2025
“Idc if gayle is giving d*** down she still can’t say it just like I can’t call her any slur I want to lol, gay people need to stop excusing homophobia when it comes from women,” another commented.
Idc if gayle is giving dyke down she still can’t say it just like I can’t call her any slur I want to lol, gay people need to stop excusing homophobia when it comes from women
— FloptinaBestie777 (@floptinabestie7) April 4, 2025
“Would she laugh if Matteo used the N word? Probably not,” someone else claimed.
Would she laugh if Matteo used the N word? Probably not.
— Harlem Calleja (@CallejaHarlem) April 5, 2025
Gayle King Has Yet To Address Use Of Controversial Slur
Of course, Gayle King meant no harm and was likely just trying to wear her comedian’s hat, given that she was speaking to one. However, given the times we live in, she would have done well to avoid trying to find out whether folks would find humor in this particular jibe.
CBS has since removed the slur from its platforms, but Gayle King has yet to address the controversy.
Whether or not the network opts to punish her remains to be seen.
