Gayle King is facing backlash for asking Lisa Leslie about Kobe Bryant’s rape case. In case you missed it, Gayle sat down with the WNBA legend on earlier this week on CBS This Morning.
During the course of the interview, Gayle said, “It's been said that his legacy is complicated because of a sexual assault charge. Is it complicated for you as a woman, as a WNBA player?” Lisa was like, “It's not complicated for me at all. I just never have ever seen him being the kind of person that would do something to violate a woman or be aggressive in that way. That was just never the person that I know.”
Gayle told her that she wouldn’t see it as his friend, and asked if it was fair to question the accusation. Leslie said, “If you had questions about it, you've had many years to ask him that," she continued. "I don't think it's something that we should keep hanging over his legacy.” She also said that the media should be more respectful at this time.
The backlash – from Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, and Lil Boosie – was swift.
She issued a statement about it and took to her twitter with a video where she is openly upset with CBS for teasing the clip the way they did. “I understand why people are upset seeing that clip out of context. I hope they will now watch the entire wide-ranging interview. We asked a longtime friend of Kobe Bryant’s to talk to us about his legacy and their friendship and Lisa Leslie did exactly that.”