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Gayle King was 'nervous' for Oprah before Armstrong interview
Gayle King says it’s not always so easy being the keeper of gal pal Oprah Winfrey’s secrets.
ITK caught up with the “CBS This Morning” co-host as she hit the Washington party circuit during inauguration weekend.
King tells us it was tough to bite her tongue knowing Winfrey landed the first interview with Lance Armstrong following the cyclist’s doping scandal: “I feel like my child — that you know the child has it, but you’re on the field and you say, ‘Don’t drop the ball!’ Or you’re in the play, ‘Don’t stumble on the stage.’ Because I knew she had it.”
The former local news anchor, a longtime BFF of the talk show queen, says she had to, at least temporarily, keep her own emotions hidden from Winfrey. “I didn’t say this to her before the interview because I didn’t want her to know, but I was so nervous for her,” says King.
Winfrey described the ultra-sensitive details of what happened in the Armstrong interview to her close confidante.
“She was telling me all the different things she had. And she said we have so much stuff that we’re trying to get two parts," King said.
King was skeptical, contending the interview should air on one night, rather than be spaced out over two evenings. But she soon changed her mind.
“When she started talking about what she had I went, ‘Oh yeah. You’re right. It should be two parts. Let me shut up. You’re right.’ ”
Winfrey got her wish, and even promoted the two-part “Oprah’s Next Chapter” exclusive on King’s CBS show.
The interview — in which Armstrong finally admitted to years of doping — drew millions of viewers when it aired last week on OWN.
