Gayle King has sparked controversy after quoting comedian Matteo Lane during a live TV interview on CBS Mornings, where she repeated an uncensored gay slur.
The stand-up comedian was on the show Thursday to promote his book Your Pasta Sucks, which, according to Lane, highlights his humor both in the kitchen and on stage — a topic King was eager to discuss.
“Can we talk about the stand-up? Can I just say one joke? I hope I don’t get in trouble,” King asked before quoting Lane. “You do a riff about white women who approached you, and they said something about cooking, and you said, ‘What in the f****try are you talking about?’”
The show aired the uncensored version of the word during the live broadcast and kept it intact when uploading the clip to YouTube.
However, CBS has removed the video from their website. The footage, still available on user-uploaded recordings on X, shows Lane laughing with his hand over his mouth while King reacted with amusement, asking, “I thought that was hilarious. What does that mean?”
Lane replied, “I love you, Gayle King. It means exactly what you think it means. White women, they’re fine during the day, but they have one sip of rosé and they’re like, ‘Tonight’s about me!’ They won’t stop, I’m telling you. Horrible.”
While Lane has not publicly addressed the incident, he did post a censored version of the clip on his Instagram. According to Entertainment Weekly, the slur was omitted from later broadcasts and social media reposts. The clip was also removed from YouTube and CBS News‘ website.
The moment sparked a range of reactions online. Bob the Drag Queen, Lane’s friend and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 8, shared the clip on social media, calling King’s remark “honestly iconic.”
However, others on X expressed disbelief, with one user writing, “Did Gayle King just say that out loud on National TV!!!!!! I’m GAGGED! Literally jaw dropped!”
