Gayle King faces ethics breach claims amid turmoil in ‘CBS Mornings’ over Ta-Nehisi Coates interview

WASHINGTON, DC: Gayle King, 'CBS Mornings' co-host, is tangled in a fresh controversy, all thanks to a heated interview her colleague Tony Dokoupil conducted with Ta-Nehisi Coates.

The interview didn’t just stir the pot—it flipped it over, and now all eyes are on Gayle. She’s facing allegations of journalistic misconduct while the whole CBS network is dealing with major fallout from the interview. So what exactly went down?

The controversial 'CBS Mornings' interview that sparked it all

So, here’s the deal. Pro-Palestine activist Ta-Nehisi Coates was on 'CBS Mornings' to promote his new book 'The Message'. Everything seemed to be business as usual until Tony Dokoupil — who recently converted to Judaism and has deep personal ties to Israel — took the interview in an unexpected direction.

Dokoupil hit Coates with a series of questions that came off as sharp—accusing him of being an "extremist" and calling him out for not including an Israeli perspective in his book. And let’s just say, things got tense.

Dokoupil grilled Coates on Israel’s right to exist, asking why pro-Israel voices weren’t part of the book’s narrative.

“The content of that section would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist,” Dokoupil remarked.

He then demanded to know, "Why leave out that Israel is surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it? Why leave out that Israel deals with terror groups that want to eliminate it?"

Of course, Coates wasn’t about to back down. He defended his work, explaining that he wanted to tell stories that hadn’t been told—especially in a media landscape where he believes “there was no shortage of pro-Israel voices".

But Dokoupil continued to press harder, essentially accusing Coates of painting Israel in a negative light.

And then came the bombshell question.

"What I struggled with throughout this book, what is it that so particularly offends you about the existence of a Jewish state that is a Jewish safe place, and not any of the other states out there," Dokoupil asked.

"If Israel has a right to exist, and if your answer is no, then I guess the question becomes why do the Palestinians have a right to exist? Why do 20 different Muslim countries have a right to exist?"

Coates shot back: "There's nothing that offends me about a Jewish state. I am offended by the idea of states built on ethnocracy, no matter where they are. I would not want a state where any group of people lay down their citizenship rights based on ethnicity. Either apartheid is right or it's wrong. It's really, really simple. I am against a state that discriminates against people on the base of ethnicity."

How did Gayle King get dragged into the controversy?

Now, you’re probably wondering how Gayle King fits into all this. Well, she wasn’t even the one doing the interview, but Ta-Nehisi Coates has claimed that King had a backstage chat with him before the cameras rolled — where she supposedly went over the questions with him.

According to Coates, “Gayle came behind the stage before we went [on] and she had gone through the book, and I’m not saying she agreed with the book. [Yet] she was like, ‘I’m gonna ask you about this. I’m gonna ask you about that.’”

Now if King did pre-feed Coates specific questions, it could be seen as a breach of CBS’ journalistic standards.

A former CBS reporter told The Free Press, “Now are they going to investigate her and say that what she did was not in keeping with CBS standards? I suspect not.”

The network is standing by their queen though, with a 'CBS Mornings' spokesperson telling the Daily Mail: "Gayle King is one of the most respected journalists in America. She is known for her thorough preparation and note-taking. She reads the books, consumes the content that will be discussed, and extensively prepares for each interview on 'CBS Mornings'."

The spokesperson added, "Engaging in pre-segment conversations with guests is a standard practice for any experienced host. Discussing a guest’s work ahead of time is a common approach to establish rapport.” 

CBS network divided over Tony Dokoupil’s conduct

While Gayle King has her defenders, Tony Dokoupil isn’t so lucky. CBS higher-ups didn’t seem too thrilled with how the interview went down and Dokoupil was reportedly reprimanded for his “bias” during the tense exchange.

According to reports, CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon said that Dokoupil’s interview “did not meet editorial standards for impartiality".

CBS’ president of content development Adrienne Roark also had some choice words. She gathered staff and scolded Dokoupil, telling him: "We will still hold people accountable. But we will do so objectively, which means checking our biases and opinions at the door."

But not everyone at CBS was on board with Dokoupil’s punishment. Some staffers, including legal analyst Jan Crawford, were openly supportive of Tony’s approach.

Crawford said during a staff meeting, “I don't even understand how Tony's interview failed to meet our editorial standards… I thought our commitment was to the truth.”

"It sounds like we are calling out one of our anchors in a somewhat public setting on this call for failing to meet editorial standards for, I'm not even sure what," she continued. 

"And when someone comes on our air with a one-sided account of a very complex situation, as Coates himself acknowledges that he has, it's my understanding that as journalists we are obligated to challenge that worldview so that our viewers can have that access to the truth or a fuller account, a more balanced account. And, to me, that is what Tony did," Crawford added.

Meanwhile, Shari Redstone — a powerful shareholder of CBS’ parent company Paramount Global — reportedly wasn’t happy with how CBS handled the situation.

A source close to Redstone told the Free Press that she thought Tony “gave a great interview and modeled what civil discourse should look like. And she disagreed with the action the company took. She's working with the CEO to address this issue."