Gayle King is taking some heat from her followers after snapping a mid-air selfie with a controversial (and competing!) television host.
The CBS Mornings host hopped on a flight on Monday, and when she got to her seat, she discovered that CBS News wasn’t the only network flying that day. That’s right: seated next to her was none other than Fox News host Jesse Watters. Ya know, the 47-year-old dude who has really raised his profile on that conservative network over the last ten or so years, first with Watters World and then on The Five, and Jesse Watters Primetime, and a ton of other work.
Well, instead of duking it out with Jesse over the networks’ battle for ratings, Gayle opted to catch more flies with honey than vinegar — and offer up a selfie salute! The 70-year-old television journalist even dropped a super-cute caption on the post when it wound up on her Instagram account later on Monday.
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Ch-ch-check out that caption and the King-Watters selfie (below):
“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!”
How nice! Nothing wrong with keeping things polite and professional, right?
Er, well… not according to some of Gayle’s IG followers! People who popped up in the comments were keen on ripping King to shreds for making friends with the Fox News journo. Here are just a few of the responses calling Gayle out over her apparently pleasant interaction with the conservative influencer:
“He’s vile. Way to be complicit yet again!!!”
“I would have puked if I had to sit next to him. I’m sorry for you Gayle”
“I respect and love you, Gayle. Your seat mate, however, is harming our country…”
“Why would you even post this?”
“Really, Gayle… I’m sure he will talk on Fox later about how you’re a DEI hire. What world are you in, lady?”
“This is really not cute at all”
“You keep failing us every single day. I’m not at all disappointed, though. You can’t help yourself.”
“The one thing you can always count on is Gayle being on the wrong side of things.”
Jeez!!!
But not everybody ripped Gayle to shreds for the selfie. In fact, some people noted how refreshing it was that two people from different spots on the political compass can find a way to coexist while 30,000 feet in the air!
Some of those commenters noted:
“This is great — love the smiles of both. Keep talking and be nice to all”
“You can disagree and still have a decent and respectful conversation. Thank you for showing this Gayle! Don’t listen to the haters!”
“I think it’s great!!! Two people had a great time together and didn’t put their political beliefs in front of a friendship or flight home! That’s the way it should be!”
“you are a class act. i miss the days when people could just accept one another just as people and not care about political affiliation. It’s a bully mentality going on”
“Civility in public! How refreshing! We could certainly use more of that in Congress.”
“Good for you, Gayle. Refusing to see people with whom you disagree as human beings is the beginning of the end of this country.”
“I love how two people with opposite political views can end up sitting next to each other on a plane, share a few laughs, talk about where they’re headed, maybe even swap stories about their families — and genuinely get along. It’s a good reminder that kindness, curiosity, and a smile go a lot farther than our differences.”
Thoughts, y’all?! Where do U fall on this one? Is it good that Gayle and Jesse were friendly and pleasant for the flight, or is the heat she’s feeling on Instagram a worthy reaction?
Sound OFF with all your opinions in the comments (below)…
[Image via MEGA/WENN/Gayle King/Instagram]
