Gayle King Forced to Co-Host CBS Mornings From Van After Wild Health Scare
Gayle King is opening up about the scariest health crisis she's ever dealt with. The CBS This Morning Host was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and it shook her to her core. On the day of her positive test, she spent the broadcast in a van in isolation due to the diagnosis. Initially, she couldn't believe it due to how cautious she'd been to avoid getting it via hygienic practices and beyond. "That primal scream you heard from the fourth floor was me," she revealed to her co-anchor Tony Dokoupil Thursday. "Because I've been so freaking careful. I just couldn't believe it." Luckily, everyone around her tested negative, but it still scared her. Eventually, she learned it was a negative test. But not before chaos ensued.
"She said 'Gayle, you're fine, you're fine; just put on your mask and carry on,'" King said she was told by her executive. "But it is very, very jarring — the day before my vacation! I do not have COVID and can move in the world...Whew! Still planning to wear a mask in public for now," she wrote in an Instagram post. "I was dreading being isolated in my apartment!"" Prior to, she'd been given the worst news ever. So much so, that it sent her into a downward spiral, literally. King admitted she legit passed out upon hearing the news.
"Shoutout to Shawna who had to literally pick me off the floor, just guide me to the office, because I had a positive PCR, a negative antigen. Then, we've since taken multiple [tests], they've all been negative. Everybody on my team is negative. I don't even know how to explain this," King said.
King has been on a roll since her 2019 sit down with an unhinged R. Kelly on the show. The interview came after a Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly, focused on the 30+ years of sexual abuse and trafficking allegations against the "I Believe I Can Fly" singer. King, despite Kelly's tantrum, remained calm. Since then, the spotlight has been bursting onto her.
King is the best friend of media guru, Oprah Winfrey. The two met in the late 80s and have supported one another since.