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Oprah says Gayle King not doing well after social media backlash over Kobe interview question

Oprah Winfrey says her friend has faced death threats amid backlash following her interview with retired WNBA star Lisa Leslie that involved the late Lakers legend.

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NEW YORK — Oprah Winfrey says her friend Gayle King is facing death threats following a social media backlash caused by an interview with retired WNBA star Lisa Leslie that involved the late Kobe Bryant.

Winfrey said on “Hoda & Jenna & Friends” that King “is not doing well'' and has to travel with security because of threats. Winfrey criticized what she called "misogynist vitriol'' against King.

CBS released an excerpt of King's interview online and on CBS News' social media accounts that focused on a sexual assault case that had been brought against Bryant and dismissed.

King asks Leslie whether the case made Bryant's legacy complicated for her. Leslie said it didn't.

King later said she was angry about the excerpt.

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Credit: AP

FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2019 file photo, Oprah Winfrey speaks during the Celebration of the Life of Toni Morrison at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. Winfrey says her friend Gayle King is facing death threats following a social media backlash caused by an interview with WNBA star Lisa Leslie that concerned the late Kobe Bryant. Winfrey said on Hoda & Jenna & Friends, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, that King “is not doing well'' and has to travel with security because of threats. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Gayle King attends "Freestyle Love Supreme" Broadway opening night at the Booth Theatre on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)