Back in 1976, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King were twenty-something journalists working at Baltimore’s WZJ station, with Oprah a news anchor and Gayle a production assistant.
“Gayle is the mother, sister, friend that I never had,” Oprah explained before revealing that Gayle was the only one who believed in her when she decided to move from Baltimore to Chicago to pursue her broadcasting career.
“You know, for years, people used to say we were gay,” she continued. “And listen, we were up against that forever, and people still may think it.”
Oprah went on to add that over the years, she has had friends show signs of jealousy or bitterness towards her, concluding: “You can’t be friends with anybody who has a hint of jealousy about anything that you’re doing. Certainly about your success or being celebrated or anything that you have. You cannot be friends if you see that in somebody.”
She also acknowledged the yes-men that can surround Oprah on account of her astronomical fame as she explained: “In Oprah’s life, everybody is always very flattering and is always very agreeable with things that she says. And sometimes I’ll just go: ‘That’s just not true, your hair does not look good.’”
