Gayle King Catches Strays for Giving Sylvester Stallone a Soft Platform to Brag About His Trump Honor
Morning news anchor Gayle King is facing backlash following her interview with an actor whose recent ties to President Trump sparked more outrage than praise.
Trump, 79, presented Sylvester Stallone, 79, with a Kennedy Center Honors medallion during a Dec. 6 Oval Office ceremony, then took on the role of host for the 2025 event weeks later.
In addition, critics blasted Trump for unilaterally attaching his name to a federally protected memorial for the late President John F. Kennedy, a move that split opinion and has now pulled King into the growing backlash.
With that controversial political cloud hovering over Trump taking control of the Kennedy Center, Stallone sat down for a Dec. 17 segment on the “CBS Mornings” program.
King, 71, reflected on his Kennedy Center honor as well as his time making the Oscar-winning “Rocky” film, which hit theaters in 1976. Stallone’s discussion of his breakout role as Robert “Rocky” Balboa in the classic sports drama excited his fans, in addition to footage of the duo watching the film together.
Still, Stallone’s connection to Trump has raised flags for even his longtime friends. Someone who had a change of heart about the Golden Globe Award winner wrote, “I had much respect for Stallone until he sold out and became a Trumper.”
A Facebook commenter said, “This guy is not a good guy. Refuse to watch anything he is in or been in before.”
Another said, “Gayle is too good for this sham. The Kennedy Center has been ‘cleansed’ of diversity, equity and inclusion under orders from the king.”
King did not escape criticism for her part in platforming Stallone following his recognition by the head of the right-wing MAGA movement. One person proclaimed, “Gayle should be ashamed of herself.”
That plain-spoken critic of King received a co-sign when a reply to the comment read, “I thought I was the only one who dislikes her.” Yet another commenter simply posted, “Do better @gayleking.”
While King faced backlash for doing her job, Stallone was the target of most of the online vitriol.
“Self-made man who bent the knee to orange daddy, not a good look Sly,” read a more measured reaction to Stallone embracing Trump as a provocative political figure over the past decade.
During Trump’s contentious 2016 bid for the Republican nomination, the “Expendables” star stopped short of a full endorsement of the former “The Apprentice” host.
“I love Donald Trump,” Stallone told Variety. “He’s a great Dickensian character. You know what I mean? There are certain people, like Arnold [Schwarzenegger], Babe Ruth, that are bigger than life. But I don’t know how that translates… to running the world.”
By 2024, Stallone admitted he was “in awe” of Trump, and he called his longtime friend the “second George Washington” at an America First Policy Institute gala at the president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Stallone welcomed Trump to the stage that night, where the two men embraced with a two-handed shake as “God Bless the U.S.A.” played on the speakers in the venue.
Trump had the opportunity to return the favor for the filmmaker at the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, but the often self-absorbed billionaire instead gave Stallone a backhanded compliment.
“We’re going to begin tonight with Sylvester Stallone and some of the fantastic things that he’s done,” Trump told the Kennedy Center audience during his opening speech. “Sly, you’ve been my friend for a long time. You’ve been a very special friend in so many different ways.”
The tribute quickly turned to an unexpected personal indictment of Stallone when Trump said, “When I needed help, I knew not to go to Sly, because I don’t think he would’ve been there for me. But now he would. But after tonight, I think he will.”
As far as King, her 2025 has been filled with some public relations miscalculations. Her participation in the all-female Blue Origin spaceflight in April was routinely mocked as being a frivolous celebrity pr stunt.
That scrutiny only intensified months later, when Trump lashed out at the CBS journalist, claiming her “career is over” and criticizing her professionalism after comments she made about changes at the network. In a pointed message last August, Trump questioned King’s talent and standing at CBS, escalating a long-running feud and putting Oprah Winfrey’s best friend back in his crosshairs as he took aim at the network’s leadership and programming decisions.
In October, King was accused of being tone-deaf by sharing a selfie with Fox News host Jesse Watters as they sat next to each other on an airplane. Left-leaning social media users slammed the University of Maryland graduate for appearing too chummy with her Trump-supporting cohort.
