While Gayle King may be fond of a Black man who knows his way around a curse word or two, what she doesn’t like is a man who asks her for money while they’re on a date. The seasoned journalist made her preferences very clear during her sit-down with Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor earlier this week.
While chatting with the hosts of “The Pivot” podcast, the 69-year-old “Good Morning America” host shared a dating story about a man she was seeing who asked her for money while on a date.
It all began when Crowder teased King for being rich. And although she asserted that she is “doing alright,” King acknowledged that her net worth could be intimidating for some men. She also noted that men often want to compete with her.
“Somebody said to me once, ‘Look at your shoes. Look at your bag. Look at your coat. You’re friends with Oprah,'” King explained. “A guy looks at that and goes, ‘I can’t compete with that.'”
“I’m not looking for somebody to compete. You want somebody who has a sense of humor. Who’s very secure. Who’s not, well, intimidated by whatever all of this is,” she continued.
King then transitioned the conversation by sharing a story about a date she went on with an unnamed man. “I was very excited about it,” said King.
“We had gone out maybe two months, and then he said he really needed to talk to me,” King told the hosts. “He wanted to have a private conversation.”
“Okay, sure, what is it?” she recalled asking her date.
He asked her, “Do you think you could lend me $4,000?”
The male hosts responded in disbelief.
According to King, her best friend Oprah Winfrey couldn’t believe it either. She allegedly said, “God, I would have felt better if he had said $40,000.”
King said she was “crushed” that he asked her that because she really liked him.
“I was so crushed. He was somebody who was making six figures, successful,” said King.
But it got worse, the ABC correspondent said.
“When I said, you know, ‘Could I ask what it’s for?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ It was for a child support issue and to pay a payment on some furniture.”
The man said that he only needed the loan for a few days. It was a Sunday, and he promised to repay the loan by Thursday. And to his credit, he kept his promise. Five days after King wrote the check, the gentleman paid his debt. However, she says she never felt the same way, and it “changed the relationship” for her.
While it altered the dynamic with that particular individual, it didn’t impact her sentiments toward Black men in general.
