Gayle King's Chummy Flight With Fox News' Jesse Watters Ignites A Brutal Internet War
Birds of a feather?! The internet is effectively reeling after Gayle King took to Instagram on October 20 to announce her fast friendship with fellow television personality Jesse Watters. "Two TV people from competing networks walk on to a plane and to the surprise of them both, they're seated right next to each other for over four hours. How did it go? Speaking for @jessewatters here: A good time was had by all! Hi, Jesse...saving your number!" she penned in the post.
Suffice to say, not many had a friendship between King and Watters on their bingo card for 2025, and they immediately flocked to the comments section to let their voices be heard. "Why would you even post this?" one Instagram user asked. Meanwhile, another commented in part, "It's one thing to support opposing views. But when the individual loathes, ridicules, lies and vilifies all that you stand for how do you grin and bear it?? It's like grinning for a selfie with the leader of the Proud Boys at a No Kings rally." Still, there were a few who applauded King for her willingness to look past partisan politics and right at the person standing in front of — or, in this case, seated beside — her. "Great to see. Love the unity sans politics," one user wrote.
Over the years, Jesse Watters has developed a reputation for having a shady side. From his and his second wife's scandalous relationship timeline and the real reason he got a divorce, to even being accused of stalking, it's safe to say the ultra-conservative Fox News host isn't exactly the poster child for news hosts. So what exactly might King see in Watters? Good question.
Critics claim Gayle King is just trying to butter up her new CBS boss
While there's still no word yet on what Gayle King's BFF, Oprah Winfrey, has to say about her newfound affection for Jesse Watters, many are accusing King of cozying up to Watters solely for personal gain. "Trying to impress Bari Weiss," one Instagram user quipped in the comments section of King's Instagram post (via the New York Post).
As you may recall, in October, Weiss announced in an open letter on her media company, The Free Press, that she had been hired as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News and vowed to "help guide CBS News into a future that honors those great values that underpin The Free Press and the best of American journalism." She added, "The values that we've hammered out here over the years — journalism based in curiosity and honesty, a culture of healthy disagreement, our shared belief in America's promise — now have the opportunity to go very, very big."
Following the big media company shakeup, it's been widely rumored that King may finally get kicked to the curb by CBS. "The audience doesn't want woke. It doesn't like progressive and provocative bookings," a source told the New York Post in August. "The morning show audience wants optimism and cheer and joy and what they were producing is at odds with audience expectations." Perhaps King's budding friendship with Watters really is just an attempt to secure her hosting gig at "CBS Mornings." TBD, we suppose.