When Gayle King, CBS Mornings’ beloved co-anchor, stepped into the comedy spotlight this past week, she did so with all the finesse of someone who’s been practicing a punchline—or, perhaps more accurately, someone who’s been trying to avoid a punchline. On April 4th, during an interview with comedian Matteo Lane, King decided to retell one of his stand-up jokes with gusto—and, well, it included an uncensored gay slur. Oops?
In the spirit of “Can I get away with this?” King quoted Lane’s joke about white women, rosé, and an apparent alter ego that emerges after just one sip of the drink. “Can I just say one joke? I hope I don’t get in trouble,” she quipped before diving in. As she retold Lane’s punchline—which involved the use of a gay slur—the comedian couldn’t contain his laughter. Watching the moment unfold, he grinned, covering his mouth in what can only be described as a mix of amusement and mild horror, while King herself seemed totally oblivious to the storm that was brewing behind the scenes.
“I thought that was hilarious,” she added, not skipping a beat, as Lane explained the joke with more context. “What does that mean?” she asked, as if she were just a regular fan of gay comedy.
Lane, ever the professional, managed to keep his composure while offering a more detailed breakdown of the punchline. “It means exactly what you think it means,” he said, in between laughs. “White women, they’re fine during the day, but they have one sip of a rosé and they’re like, ‘Tonight’s about me!’ They won’t stop, I’m telling you. Horrible.”
After the segment aired, CBS took the responsible route (and perhaps a legal one) and scrubbed the uncensored version from subsequent broadcasts. Lane, being the good sport he is, took to Instagram to share the now-censored clip with his followers.
Naturally, this moment sent ripples through the online world, with reactions that ranged from “What were you thinking, Gayle?” to “Honestly, iconic” (thanks, Bob the Drag Queen). The reality? Reactions were split. Some argued that it was inappropriate for a straight person like Gayle to casually drop that kind of slur, even when quoting a comedian. Others—Bob the Drag Queen included—found it to be a moment of unintentional brilliance, a kind of TV chaos we didn’t know we needed.
But the real takeaway? Gayle King is out here living her best life—whether we like it or not. Can we blame a 70-year-old journalist for getting swept up in the world of drag queen humor? Gayle, next time, maybe just stick to reporting on the news? Or, better yet, call up RuPaul for some lessons on drag humor. It’s never too late to learn, right?
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So, here’s the real question—was Gayle wrong to use that slur in her retelling of the joke? Should she have been more careful with her words, or was it all just part of the comedic chaos we expect from daytime TV? We want to hear from you. Let us know what you think!
Source: People
I’ve only ever heard that word used by queer people. Margaret Cho was the first person I ever heard use that word and it was in one of her comedy sets, so I’ve only ever heard it used in a humorous way. I’m so down for the normalization of queer culture when it can be done light-heartedly like this.
Sorry, Direct Quote in this case, so it doesn’t count in my opinion. She was quoting something he said, and it was not offensive when he said it either. It was hilarious, because I know some of the types of women he’s referring to personally.
It’s not about the word. It’s about the context.
It is wrong to use the f word. How would she feel if people used the N word. Both are horrible and denote extremely lack of understanding and vocabulary.
Oh get over yourselves you overly-sensitive whiners who wear your offense like a haut couture. I’m a gay man and use the term jokingly all the time, along with my friends, including some close straight male friends who’ve earned the trust to use at as a humorous example playful campy jab between close buds.
Gayle is an ally and fabulous black woman. She’s earned the privilege to use the word in the context she did. If a white straight uses it maliciously or pejoratively, that’s absolutely unacceptable. That was not at all the case here, so stop pretending that you’re traumatized by the use of the word — we’re not buying your obligatory victim routine. And, NO, it’s not equivalent to the N word — not even close.
Maybe if LGBTQ people didn’t use it so flippantly and made such a joke out of it other people wouldn’t think it’s ok to say as a joke. She clearly didn’t mean to offend, nor was it offensive. But when we normalize it with each other, what do you expect to happen?
It’s a fine line. I personally LOATHE any and all reference to that word. I am of the variety that just never uses it, even to “reclaim it” as there are plenty in the LGBT sphere that use it among themselves. Since it was her quoting Matteo Lane originally saying it (and as a play on it by making it into ending in -try) and was coming from a place of curiosity and knowing it could be perceived poorly, it COULD be seen as excusable (notice how Bob The Drag Queen gave it a pass) but I really wish Mateo never said it in the first place. Personally, since that word and any association is so hurtful, I think it’s inconsiderate for some in the community to use it, even amongst ourselves.
Would you be asking if it was wrong if Matteo used the N word to Gail?
No, it’s only when it’s a slur against LGBTQ people that everyone sits back and says “was that really wrong?”