Gayle King received harsh criticism after she asked former WNBA player Lisa Leslie about Kobe Bryant's 2003 sexual assault case in an interview. While she called out CBS for sharing the clip "out of context," that hasn't stopped fans of the late Lakers legend from expressing their contempt. Among the most vocal of her critics is Snoop Dogg, who called her a "punk motherfucker" for the question. Appearing on Ricky Smiley's morning show, he further explained his issue with King.
"I just think that wasn't even necessary," he said when asked about the interview around the two-minute mark. "You got Lisa Leslie, an all-star, a great player and Olympic gold medalist who actually grew with Kobe." He said that King should have simply asked about the relationship between Leslie and Kobe, instead of focusing on a case that was settled out of court in 2005.
"So it's like it's certain people that just wasn't like that so in Lisa's mind, she feel like, 'Why you keep asking the question when the case was dismissed?'" Snoop explained. "He wasn't even guilty. So if it was that serious, and no disrespect to the victim, but if it was that serious—if you did that to me—I'm getting on the witness stand and I'm coming forth to make sure you go do some time. Period!"
He also expressed his concern about what Kobe's kids might think upon hearing about the allegation. "My thing was... that was 2003. Some of his kids wasn't even born. So, when you brining that up you bringing information to them that they don't need to know nothing about, you get what I'm saying? I'm thinking about them." He called her response, in which she took issue with the clip being taken "out of context," a "weak-ass apology."
In the clip, King asked Leslie about Bryant's "complicated" legacy due to the sexual assault charge. "Is it complicated for you, as a woman, as a WNBA player?" King asked. "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's just not the person that I know," Leslie replied.
In his response to the clip, Snoop directly addressed King. "Gayle King... Out of pocket for that shit," he said. "Way out of pocket. What do you gain from that? I swear to god we the worst. We the fuckin' worst. We expect more from you Gayle. Don't you hang out with Oprah? Why y'all attacking us? We your people. You ain't coming after fuckin' Harvey Weinstein ass and them dumbass questions."
In a number of follow-up posts, Snoop shared pictures of Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King with disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein. He also called for the release of convicted sexual predator Bill Cosby, who subsequently thanked the rapper from behind bars.
