Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent & More Bash Gayle King Over Kobe Bryant Rape Question

Unfortunately for Gayle King, her explanation of the now-viral clip of her asking Lisa Leslie about the late Kobe Bryant's rape case has seemingly fallen on deaf ears.

Hours after the CBS This Morning co-host took to Instagram to defend herself — she called out her network for sharing the "out-of-context" clip — many, including a number of celebrities, have continued to bash her online, accusing her of "attacking her own people."

Snoop Dogg was one of the first to share his explicit thoughts on Gayle's interview, calling the 65-year-old journalist out of her name and even appearing to threaten her. "Gayle King," he said as he shook his head. "Out of pocket for that sh*t. Way out of pocket. What do you gain from that? I swear to God, we're the worst. We're the f**king worst. We expect more from you, Gayle. Don't you hang out with Oprah [Winfrey]? Why ya'll attacking us? We your people. You ain't coming after f**king [producer] Harvey Weinstein, asking them dumba** questions. I get sick of ya'll."

"How dare you try to tarnish my motherf**king homeboy's reputation, punk motherf**ker?" he continued, referring to Kobe's legacy. "Respect the family and back off, b*tch, before we come get you."

Snoop didn't stop there, he went on to post old photos of Gayle and Oprah posing with Harvey Weinstein, who is currently on trial for alleged rape.

PLEASE BE ADVISED, THE FOLLOWING VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE.

As fans know, Kobe, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on January 26. Since then, a number of people have shared their thoughts on the athlete's 2003 sexual assault case, which was dismissed after his accuser refused to testify, and Kobe later settled a civil lawsuit with her.

After the lawsuits were settled, Kobe released a lengthy apology, saying, "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did."

Gayle addressed this and a wide range of topics during her interview with Lisa, which she explained on Instagram Thursday (February 6). “I know that if I had only seen the clip that you saw, I’d be extremely angry with me too," she admitted. "I am mortified. I am embarrassed and I am very angry."

“Unbeknownst to me, my network put up a clip from a very wide-ranging interview — totally taken out of context — and when you see it that way, it’s very jarring. It’s jarring to me. I didn’t even know anything about it,” Gayle continued. "I've been advised to say nothing [...] but that's not good enough for me because I really want people to understand what happened here and how I'm feeling about it."

The Emmy-award-winning journalist went on to explain that she reached out to Lisa to do the interview because she knew that she was a "longtime friend of Kobe's" and wanted to discuss his "legacy and their friendship." Gayle noted that during the interview she and Lisa spoke about many things including "his career, his passion, his sense of humor, the way he was mentoring other people, how he was starting his next chapter..."

“And yes, we talked about that court case because that court case has also come up," Gayle added. "And, I wanted to get Lisa’s take on it as a friend who knew him well, what she thought, where that should stand... It was very powerful when she looked me in the eye, as a member of the media, to say, ‘It’s time for the media to leave it alone and to back off.’”

The CBS This Morning co-host said she asked follow-up questions to make sure Lisa's "position and perspective were very clear." Gayle even noted that after the interview aired, she spoke to Lisa, who was apparently "okay with the interview."

“I felt really good about the interview," she added. "So, for the network to take the most salacious part when taken out of context, and put it up online for people who didn’t see the whole interview, is very upsetting to me and that’s something I’m going to have to deal with them. There will be a very intense discussion about that."

Gayle concluded her Instagram video by sharing stories about her "friendly relationship" with the late Kobe Bryant, saying she, along with the rest of the world, is still mourning his loss. "The last thing I'd want to do is disparage him at this particular time. I hope people understand that," she shared, adding, "[There was] no disrespect intended."

See more celebrity reactions to Gayle King's interview below.

PLEASE BE ADVISED, THE FOLLOWING VIDEOS AND POSTS CONTAIN EXPLICIT LANGUAGE.

Photo: Getty Images