Gayle King's Complain Fest About Business Seat Validates Haters: 'Another Reason I Don't Watch Her'

Gayle King's recent rant about her airline accommodations has her haters on the attack. King, who has co-hosted CBS's morning show since 2011, took to Instagram to launch her complaints about receiving a windowless window seat while flying business class. "I always like the window seats, and I know the L series has window seats," King said in her video, where she showed viewers her airplane ticket. "So I sit down and go, 'Oh, great, okay. Let's look out the window. ... There is no window." King then decided to peer out of her neighbor's window, but the view was obscured by a privacy wall. Adding to her frustration, she noted that the person in front of her had a window, but they'd opted to keep it closed. "United and I have very different ideas about a window. What's a girl to do?"

Thoughts and prayers for Gayle King as she endures a windowless window seat in business class. 😫 pic.twitter.com/9bXSXPa734

— Natalie Jean Beisner (@NJBeisner) January 6, 2026

Although King didn't appear too angry about the mix-up, her first-world complaints about airline seating didn't drudge up much sympathy with her haters. "Hopefully she survived this without too much trauma," wrote one snarky commenter on X. An equally sarcastic user shaded King about the Space Origin flight she took with an all-female crew last spring. "Do they not realize she's an astronaut," they quipped. Meanwhile, a third user used King's remarks to justify their reasoning for not supporting her. Their post read, "Omg another reason I don't watch her! Sad but true!"

Reddit users were also unimpressed by King's airplane woes to varying degrees. "Gayle King is completely clueless as to how her privilege and entitlement come across," wrote one user. "The way she could not wrap her head around why people thought it was ridiculous that she was calling herself an astronaut was chef's kiss."

Gayle King's complaints about her lack of a window seat may not have landed as she hoped, but perhaps she deserves a little slack. After all, it's been rumored that King, whose net worth is sky-high, is gearing up for a major shift in her career. Basically, Oprah Winfrey's best friend has a contract with "CBS Mornings" that expires in May, and some have speculated that the media company wasn't sure about renewing it.

CBS has addressed the rumor, telling People, "There have been no discussions with Gayle about her contract that runs through May 2026. ... She's a truly valued part of CBS and we look forward to engaging with her about the future." Either way, the public discussion about her future probably hasn't been fun or easy for King to navigate.

Rumblings about King's possible career shakeup come after a particularly rocky year for the news anchor. Last spring, King was widely panned for participating in Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket launch, which also included singer Katy Perry. Despite the event being positioned as something revolutionary and necessary for the advancement of aeronautics, many deemed it a waste of precious resources, especially amid the economic state of the country. King, however, felt otherwise. "I know there are cranky yankees, I know there are some haters, but I'm not going to let people steal my joy and steal the joy of what we did and what we accomplished that day," she told Extra. She also experienced a lot of internet turbulence when she revealed that she got chummy with Fox News host Jesse Watters during a flight, so perhaps she needs to start keeping it on the down-low whenever her feet leave the ground.