Gayle King is officially moving on from the Snoop Dogg controversy.
King responded to the rapper’s apology for going on a profanity-filled rant against her for bringing up the late Kobe Bryant’s 2003 sexual assault case during an interview with Lisa Leslie.
“I accept the apology and understand the raw emotions caused by this tragic loss,” the CBS This Morning co-host said in a statement to the Associated Press. “As a journalist, it is sometimes challenging to balance doing my job with the emotions and feelings during difficult times. I don’t always get it perfect but I’m constantly striving to do it with compassion and integrity.”
Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.
Related Story: Snoop Dogg Apologizes to Gayle King: I ‘Overreacted’
Snoop was one of many critics who took issue with King calling the NBA champion’s legacy “complicated” in her interview earlier this month with former WNBA star Leslie, who was close friends with Bryant.
Leslie replied to King, “It’s not complicated for me at all … I just never see — have ever seen him being the kind of person that would be — do something to violate a woman or be aggressive in that way. That’s just not the person that I know.”
Snoop warned the newscaster in an Instagram post to “back off b–ch before we come get you.”
King’s best friend Oprah Winfrey later said the CBS News star was receiving death threats. The debate over the interview continued for days across social media, and prompted the #IStandWithGayle hashtag to trend on Twitter.
After facing intense criticism from journalists, celebrities, and King’s powerful friends, Snoop Dogg apologized on Feb. 12.
