(NewsNation) — Gayle King is about to wake up late.
I’m hearing Oprah Winfrey’s bff is on her way out of “CBS Mornings” — but she will technically stay with the network.
Gayle will be given the Diane Sawyner, Hoda Kotb treatment: Source
King, who has headed the Tiffany Networks mornings for 13 years, will bow out at the end of her contract next year.
”She will technically stay with the network,” my insider said. “Gayle will do special projects and bigger interviews — like what Diane Sawyer and Hoda Kotb do (for ABC and NBC, respectively).”
The new head of CBS News, Bari Weiss, is said to not be a fan of King’s — especially after the fraught interview with Ta-Nahisi Coates last year in which Coates, promoting his book “The Message,” sparred with “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil over Israel. Later, Coates suggested Dokoupil should have done what King did — provided him with her planned questions beforehand — a major no-no in news.
King also took heat earlier this year when she went on a Blue Origin space flight with Lauren Sanchez Bezos, Katy Perry and others in what amounted to a million-dollar freebie.
After the flight, the network had brashly announced that King’s spaced flight had rocketed audience numbers to never-before-seen (since the 90s) heights … but failed to mention numbers cratered after the trip in which King was widely criticized not just for accepting a gift flight worth millions but her tone-deaf comments afterwards.
The news comes the same day Maurice DuBois announced on Instagram that will leave “CBS Evening News,” after John Dickerson had already announced his departure. No replacement has been named.
Backlash lingers over Blue Origin flight with Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez Bezos
One industry insider told me at the time, “This stunt should have never been greenlit by CBS News to begin with — Gayle tries to be this relatable morning show anchor who claims she’s down to earth and then not only takes this gazillion-dollar flight but then attacks people for getting mad at her? It’s a complete crock.”
King was noticeably tetchy when the criticisms started rolling in after the flight.
She even accused critics of sexism — although one fails to understand how her trip did anything except inspire young girls to befriend billionaires’ fiancées — and told Entertainment Tonight, “Have you been?” King asked while scolding critics.
(Social media answers ranged from, “No Gayle, I’m trying to buy eggs,” to “Gayle, if I had that money to go I’d pay off the mortgage on my house.”)
“It was the ultimate leftist thing to do in a time of great insecurity in the country,” the insider added. “It was just stupid.”
I know of at least one major name who has been contacted for King’s slot — but turned the network down as the person “didn’t want to have to deal with the morning show hassle and the schedule. It’s brutal.”
A rep for CBS didn’t return emails.
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