As Gayle King continues to fend off backlash for bringing up Kobe Bryant’s rape case during a recent interview, Bill Cosby has weighed in on the matter. Cosby shared a message on social media on Thursday (Feb. 6) thanking Snoop Dogg for writing “Free Bill Cosby” in a series of social media posts blasting King.
“Snoop, when they brought me to my gated community and placed me inside of my penthouse, they didn’t win nor did they silence me,” Cosby wrote in reference to his prison cell. “It’s so sad and disappointing that successful Black Women are being used to tarnish the image and legacy of successful Black Men, even in death. Are those people that in need of fame, ratings and/or money? On behalf of myself, [my wife] Camille and my family, thank you, thank you and thank you,” continued the 82-year-old comedian. “My heartfelt prayers are with Kobe and his family, as well as with Michael Jackson and his family. May their legacies live on forever.”
Snoop went off on King in a video that he posted to Instagram, and questioned why she mentioned the dismissed rape charge against Bryant. “What do you gain from that? I swear to God we [Black people are] the worst. We expect more from you, Gayle. Don’t you hang out with Oprah? Why ya’ll attacking us? We your people. You ain’t coming after f**king Harvey Weinstein asking them dumb a** questions. I get sick of ya’ll!”
After a short pause to ask if it was appropriate to call her out of the name, the father of three called King a, “funky dog head b**ch!”
“How dare you try to tarnish my homeboy’s reputation punk mutherf**ka’. Respect the family and back off b**ch! Before we come get you.”
King also took to Instagram to explain her reasoning for prodding Bryant’s longtime friend, retired WNBA icon Lisa Leslie, during a CBS This Morning interview that aired earlier in the week. King contended that she spoke with Leslie after the fact, and that she had no issue with the questioning in the interview.
However, King asserts that she didn’t know that the network posted that particular snippet of a “wide-ranging” interview. “I know that if I had only seen the clip that you saw I’d be extremely angry with me too,” said King. “I am mortified, I’m embarrassed, and I am very angry. Unbeknownst to me my network put up a clip from a very wide-ranging interview, totally taken out of context, and when you see it that way, it’s very jarring. It was jarring to me. I didn’t even know anything about it. I started getting calls ‘What the hell are you doing? Why did you say this?’ I didn’t know what people were talking about.”
King said that she was advised to stay silent and let the backlash blow over. “But that’s not good enough for me. I want people to understand what happened here and what I’m feeling about it.”
The veteran journalist insisted on the Bryant rape case questions staying in the interview because she felt that Leslie responded perfectly. In closing, King said that she had a “friendly relationship” with Bryant and wasn’t attempting to attack his legacy.
Watch her full response below.
View this post on Instagram