Gayle King left CBS viewers stunned when she casually uttered a gay slur during Thursday’s broadcast of CBS Mornings. 

King was interviewing comedian Matteo Lane about his new cookbook Your Pasta Sucks when the conversation turned to Lane’s stand-up material. 

‘Can I tell a joke real quick? I hope I don’t get into trouble,’ King started. ‘There was this bit about white women coming up to you, talking about cooking, and you’re like, “What in the world are you talking about?”‘

Her remark referenced one of Lane’s own punchlines and seemed to land well with the comedian, who uses the controversial term in his sets.

But King’s co-hosts were less amused and CBS vowed to edit the word out of subsequent feeds and scrub it from online re-runs.

‘Gayle was quoting Matteo Lane in a live conversation,’ the network said in a statement. 

We have taken out the offensive language from future airings of the show, which can be seen on our social media platforms, and have also removed this segment from YouTube and CBSNews.com.

The offensive term has long been considered a homophobic slur, but has been reclaimed by some gay men.

Gayle King left CBS viewers stunned when she casually uttered a gay slur during Thursday’s broadcast of CBS Mornings

King had been interviewing comedian Matteo Lane about his new cookbook Your Pasta Sucks when the conversation turned to Lane’s stand-up material

The studio grew visibly tense after King used the homophobic slur 

King is yet to apologize and there has been no further comment from Lane.

But many viewers have since taken to social media platform X to share their disapproval over the faux pas.

‘Oh wow, Gayle King dropping an f-slur mid-interview while quoting a joke? Messy move, fam’s probably not vibing with that one,’ one person wrote.

‘Did Gayle King just say that out loud on National TV!!!!!! I’m GAGGED! Literally jaw dropped!’ another added.

‘Gayle King saying f****t on daytime television in 2025 what timeline are we living in,’ posted another.

Some people expressed their discomfort with Gayle King using a derogatory term in her conversation with Matteo Lane on CBD. This word carries a heavy history for gay men. The fact that it was used so casually and laughed off on morning television, even if it was part of a comedy routine, is truly disheartening,’ a commenter shared.

King, 70, has been a vocal ally of the LGBTQ+ people and has previously used her platform to highlight the importance of celebrating Pride.

Her staunch support for the community, combined with her close friendship with fellow veteran broadcaster Oprah Winfrey, 71, has even led to some misplaced speculation the two are in a relationship.

Lane burst into laughter, declaring his love for King, but her cohosts looked shocked

Many of those on social media were not impressed with her use of the word on live television

Both women have firmly and frequently denied any romantic involvement.

‘You know, for years, people used to say we were gay, and listen, we were up against that forever,’ Oprah said during a recent appearance on Melinda French Gates’ podcast Moments That Make Us. ‘And people still may think it.’

King, always the more gregarious of the pair, once begged Oprah to do a segment on the rumors on The Oprah Winfrey Show, simply to clarify that she was, in fact, available for dating. 

‘Because if we were gay, we’d tell you!’ King declared with her trademark laugh.

The rumors have become almost part of the fabric of their friendship with the pair being seen arm-in-arm at red carpets, on vacation, at gala fundraisers and Met Galas alike. 

Despite their undeniable chemistry, Winfrey has pointed out that the intensity of their bond doesn’t make it romantic.

‘Gayle is the mother, sister [and] friend that I never had,’ Oprah said in the podcast.

‘The reason why I think our friendship has worked is because Gayle is happier – not just happy, but happier – for me than I am for myself.’ 

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live back in 2013, Winfrey denied ever taking ‘a dip in the lady pond.’ 

When asked if she had ever been intimate with a woman before, Winfrey answered: ‘No, no I have not. Thank you.’ 

Three years earlier, she said in an interview with Barbara Walters that she’s ‘not a lesbian’ or ‘even kind of a lesbian.’ 

‘Why would you want to hide it? That is not the way I run my life,’ she said of her sexuality. 

In the same interview, Winfrey added that no one can out-happy Gayle.

King and her friendship with Oprah has also faced rumors that their decades-long friendship is secretly romantic. They are pictured together during a December 2023 gala

In 2020 Oprah shared images of her with her friend Gayle King over the years

Oprah shared photos from her youth including a very rare image with her best pal Gayle King

Both women have firmly, and frequently, denied any romantic involvement. Pictured in 2024

Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King are seen at the Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho last July

Oprah previously revealed that King has joined her and Steadman on every one of their trips together since 1993 (seen in 1994)

Oprah and her partner Stedman Graham have been together for 36 years

‘You cannot out-happy her. I am equally as happy for her.’ 

The pair met when they were about 21 or 22 years old when they worked at Baltimore’s WJZ station.

Oprah invited King over when she couldn’t get home during a snow storm.

‘The very first night, we spent the entire night up talking and she said, “I never met another Black girl like you,” and I go “I’ve never met another Black girl like you!”‘ Oprah told in 2020.

‘Since, we have literally talked every day of our lives. It’s a more than 40-year friendship, and it’s the thing I cherish most in my life.’

Oprah also joked how, ‘When Gayle went through a divorce…I felt like I went through the divorce.’ 

King said her husband’s infidelity was painful, but she is grateful for her kids Kirby, now 38, and Will, 37.

‘You have to love your children more than you’re mad at him,’ King said.

King meanwhile has been open about her past relationships with men, including her former marriage to William Bumpus. 

She has joked about her dry dating life and gushed about her platonic love for Oprah.

In 2006, the pair addressed the rumors in Oprah’s O Magazine. 

‘I understand why people think we’re gay,’ Oprah wrote. ‘There isn’t a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women.’ 

She went on to say that society lacks a language to describe emotional intimacy between women when it’s not rooted in romance.

DailyMail.com has reached out to King’s reps for further comment.