On Friday’s Access Hollywood, CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King responded to the fact that she had recently vacationed in Tahiti with, among others, the Obama family, pathetically claiming that it was “not a political statement” and no big deal since her “friends” are out of the White House.
“Gayle’s Obama vacation under fire. Welcome to Access Hollywood. Did vacationing on a yacht with the Obamas get Gayle King in hot water with her CBS colleagues,” reported Access Hollywood co-host and former Today newsreader Natalie Morales.
Morales’s fellow co-host Liz Hernandez added: “As a co-anchor of CBS This Morning, Gayle covers the White House, but did she step over the line given that President Obama is no longer in power?”
Correspondent Scott Evans tracked King down at a Variety event in which King was named to the Power of Women list in New York. King showed her liberal colors, hypocritically ignoring a significant rule taught in journalism classes, which is to maintain independence from those you cover.
“My vacations are not political and so I went on vacation with a great group of people and, to me, that's not a political statement,” King hyped.
Evans explained in a voice-over that King was “[s]hooting down this morning's Page Six item that claims some serious journalists, including her CBS This Morning co-anchor Charlie Rose have taken issue with Gayle vacationing on a yacht with the Obamas in Tahiti.”
Despite the fact that King donated money to the Obama campaign and that her daughter was an Obama administration official, the so-called journalist concluded: “Last time I checked, he wasn’t in the White House anymore. So, I went on vacation with friends. That's how I see it.”
When asked about Bill O’Reilly’s departure from Fox News, King joked that he had “bad karma” in an allusion to the Variety award that she received (called the Karma Award).
Evans asked if she thought Fox News “got off too easy,” King replied that “Fox is sending a message, a message that needed to be sent.”
After he briefly spoke to former Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson about sexual harassment in the workplace, Evans swooned with actress Blake Lively over Chelsea Clinton as both also were at the Variety event. While some like Vanity Fair have seen enough of Chelsea, these two somehow haven’t:
EVANS: Are you having a moment right now with Chelsea Clinton?
BLAKE LIVELY: Yes. So intimidating.
EVANS: Tell me why,
LIVELY: Because it's Chelsea Clinton.
EVANS: Yeah. Enough said, right?
LIVELY: It’s a big deal. What a woman.
EVANS: A starstruck Blake Lively was also being honored, along with Chelsea Clinton as were Jessica Chastain and sexy grandma Tina Knowles-Lawson.
Here’s the relevant portion of the transcript from April 21's Access Hollywood:
NBC’s Access Hollywood
April 21, 2017
7:31 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Vacation Under Fire]
NATALIE MORALES: Gayle’s Obama vacation under fire. Welcome to Access Hollywood. Did vacationing on a yachet with the Obamas get Gayle King in hot water with her CBS colleagues?
LIZ HERNANDEZ: As a co-anchor of CBS This Morning, Gayle covers the White House, but did she step over the line given that President Obama is no longer in power?
KIT HOOVER: Well, Scott Evans spoke to her this morning in New York.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: King Size Controversy]
GAYLE KING: My vacations are not political and so I went on vacation with a great group of people and, to me, that's not a political statement.
SCOTT EVANS: Shooting down this morning's Page Six item that claims some serious journalists, including her CBS This Morning co-anchor Charlie Rose have taken issue with Gayle vacationing on a yacht with the Obamas in Tahiti.
KING: Last time I checked, he wasn’t in the White House anymore. So, I went on vacation with friends. That's how I see it.
EVANS: Enough said. CBS News adds there's no truth to any of it. “We love Gayle King. Sounds like sour grapes.” Gayle received the karma award at Variety's power of women New York presented by Lifetime event. [TO KING] Talk about the Bill O'Reilly —
KING [SMILING]: The bad karma. Oh.
BILL O’REILLY: Thanks for watching us tonight. I'm Bill O'Reilly. Please remember the spin stops here.
EVANS: Bill is out now from Fox. Do you think that Fox got off too easy in that deal?
KING: Um, I don't know if it's a question of getting off too easy, but I think Fox is sending a message, a message that needed to be sent. [TO CARLSON] Hi, Gretchen.
EVANS: Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson was also there, and it was her sexual harassment lawsuit that led to the resignation of O’Reilly's friend and protector, Fox News founder, Roger Ailes.
EVANS [TO CARLSON]: Do you think it's a trend now? This is something that can no longer go brushed under the rug, that sexual harassment will no longer be something that’s, like, oh, well, we can't do anything.
GRETCHEN CARLSON: I like your word, trend. We need to not only make it a trend — we need to make this a movement. This is a worldwide movement now, and women are no longer going to be silenced.
EVANS: Are you having a moment right now with Chelsea Clinton?
BLAKE LIVELY: Yes. So intimidating.
EVANS: Tell me why
LIVELY: Because it's Chelsea Clinton.
EVANS: Yeah. Enough said, right?
LIVELY: It’s a big deal. What a woman.
EVANS: A starstruck Blake Lively was also being honored, along with Chelsea Clinton as were Jessica Chastain and sexy grandma Tina Knowles-Lawson.
