Gayle King Reveals She Was Shocked When Ivanka Trump Contacted Her After Kobe Interview Drama

Gayle King opened up about the amount of people, Ivanka Trump included, who reached out to her after she received backlash over her Lisa Leslie interview question about Kobe Bryant.

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March 12, 2020 10:41AM EDT
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Gianna Bryant sits on the shoulders of her father, Kobe Bryant, as they attend the women's soccer match between the United States and China, in San DiegoChina USA Women soccer, San Diego, USA
The retirement of the Los Angeles Lakers player, Kobe Bryant's #8 and #24 jerseys was held Monday December 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California during half time of the game between with the Golden State Warriors. Kobe Bryant with his family (L-R) Gianna Maria-Onore, wife, Vanessa Laine Bryant, Kobe Bryant holding Bianka Bella and Natalia Diamante. 18 Dec 2017 Pictured: The retirement of the Los Angeles Lakers player, Kobe Bryant's #8 and #24 jerseys was held Monday December 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California during half time of the game between with the Golden State Warriors. Kobe Bryant with his family (L-R) Gianna Maria-Onore, wife, Vanessa Laine Bryant, Kobe Bryant holding Bianka Bella and Natalia Diamante. Photo credit: ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA135063_001.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]
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Oprah Winfrey, 66, Gayle King‘s longtime BFF, brought up the ordeal surrounding her controversial interview with WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, 47, during her WW Presents Oprah’s 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus Tour in Denver, Colorado on Saturday, March 7. Gayle, 65, asked Lisa about the late Kobe Bryant’s past rape case while chatting with her which was met with a huge amount of backlash from fans and celebs including 50 Cent, 44, and Snoop Dogg. 48. “What surprised me is the people that came to reach out to me in unexpected places,” she said of the experience while chatting with the talk show icon. “Ivanka Trump, it’s not like I’m hanging out at The White House, but Ivanka Trump reached out to me to say, ‘Are you OK? I’m sorry that this is happening to you.’ I mean, I have to say I was very touched by that.”

Gayle also revealed another surprising person who contacted her during her difficult time. “Sean Spicer reached out to me! Who I don’t know at all!” She also got a sweet treat from Katie Holmes, 44, and her daughter Suri Cruise, 15, when they left her a box of cupcakes at her home in New York City with a tag that read, “Katie & Suri. We’re thinking about you.”

“I have moved on. Is there a scab? Yeah. But I have moved on,” Gayle also told Oprah about the backlash before admitting it was difficult at first. “I put on my game face and my big girl pants, because I never lost sight of who I was, what I believe I am, and my intention. I’ve never lost sight of that. But it certainly was a learning curve, and it was very painful.”

Gayle King
The late & great NBA star Kobe Bryant. Credit: REX/Shutterstock

Fans of Gayle praised her for her comments surrounding the Kobe matter when footage of her conversation with Oprah was posted on Facebook on Wednesday, March 11. “You handled it with Grace.” one follower wrote.

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