Gayle King is sticking beside her best friend Oprah Winfrey in the wake of unflattering comments.
Supermodel Cindy Crawford fueled a debate among fans when a clip of her reflecting on an uncomfortable appearance on the media maven’s hit talk show more than three decades ago began to circulate.
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According to the fashion industry veteran, she was mortified when Winfrey encouraged her to stand up and flaunt her model physique during a 1986 interview.
“This is unbelievable. Stand up just a moment, cause no one saw you come in. Now this is what I call a body,” said the talk-show host as she and the audience admired the then-20-year-old’s physique.
Gayle King slams ‘disappointing’ Cindy Crawford for calling out her bestie Oprah Winfrey over ‘chattel’ comment. Photos: Oprahdaily/Instagram; Cindycrawford/Instagram
In the resurfaced clip featured in the Apple TV+ docuseries “The Super Models,” Crawford explained that in hindsight, the encounter left her feeling “like the chattel or a child, be seen and not heard. When you look at it through today’s eyes, Oprah’s like, ‘Stand up and show me your body. Show us why you’re worthy of being here.”
When asked what she thought of Crawford’s remarks, King told “Entertainment Tonight” that she was aware of the buzz surrounding the program, which debuted in September, but that she had not watched it for herself yet.
“But I’m surprised and a little disappointed because I know Cindy’s been on her show many, many, many times, and it has always been a pleasant experience,” added the long-time “CBS Mornings” co-anchor. “I would hate to think that something that happened years ago—number one, I don’t know quite what it is. I have to see it.”
King and Winfrey have been close friends since meeting in 1976. The network journalist has been by the mogul’s side through countless enduring times, and this one is no different.
Everyone wants to be a victim. Cindy Crawford, your presence on Oprah’s show was based of your job as a supermodel. Complaining about being objectified in that setting is like an author complaining that their book was raved about at a book signing/promo. pic.twitter.com/CvGhzMoHj3
— T.E.A (@teaswritehands) October 3, 2023
Defending the billionaire businesswoman, King said, “I’m sure it would be, ‘Hey, you look so great.’ I can’t imagine Oprah would want anybody, Cindy, or anybody to say, ‘Here, stand up, let us take a look at you.’ It’s not Oprah’s thing to humiliate or make anybody feel badly. But as far as I know, everything is good between Oprah and Cindy.”
Among the reactions to King’s remarks, someone wrote on Instagram, “One thing about Gayle she’s gonna go up for her bestie. Another took offense to Crawford’s use of the word chattel, writing, “Cindy comparing herself to an enslaved person at the slave auction is crazy.”
And another mentioned King’s own problematic 2020 interview when she asked Lisa Leslie if Kobe Bryant’s legacy was tarnished by his 2003 sexual assault case. That person wrote, “Well Gayle, you STILL ain’t forgiven for your Kobe comments when you interviewed sis!!”
Watch Gayle King’s Kobe Bryant interview with Lisa Leslie here.
Winfrey spoke out in defense of her pal amid the interview backlash. She was nearly moved to tears. The OWN Network founder publicly has not addressed the blowback from Crawford’s comments, but the archived interview since has been removed from YouTube.
