Journalist Gayle King appeared to be offered a lifeline by CBS News after joining her new anti-woke boss, Bari Weiss, for lunch, according to a source close to the station.
King, who has been rumored to possibly be weighing her career at CBS Mornings after admitting ‘there is some drama’ behind the scenes, enjoyed a ‘low-key lunch’ with Weiss at Cafe Luxembourg in the Upper West Side on Wednesday, Page Six reports.
Weiss kept her security close as the pair dined, the outlet reported.
‘They were in the back corner and snuck in,’ the source said before noting the staff didn’t appear to know who THE news chief was.
Meanwhile, King, who was recently slammed for complaining about not having a window view on her business class flight, ‘was smiling and friendly to the staff’ during lunch.
Weiss, a former opinion editor for The New York Times, has shaken up CBS since joining in October after changing around roles and laying off employees.
The ‘drama’ was ignited by Weiss’s almost immediate decisions, including promoting King’s co-host Tony Dokoupil to anchor the evening news at the beginning of the new year.
King’s $15 million-a-year contract is also up in May, but according to the spokesperson, following her and Weiss’s recent meet-up, ‘we expect [King] to have a very long future here.’
CBS News anchor Gayle King joined her new boss, Bari Weiss, for lunch on Wednesday in New York City, according to a source close to the network
Weiss has shaken up CBS since joining in October after changing around roles and laying off employees
During a recent appearance on the daytime talk show Sherri, the morning show anchor, 70, said she has ‘seen the rumors’ about the future of her career, but insisted that she did not want to get into the weeds of her talks with executives.
‘What I say is this – I’m not going to negotiate in the press,’ King said, referencing reports that she would step down from her role once her contract is up.
King said she was taken off guard by gossip about her being sacked, but remained vague about how her negotiations with executives were going.
‘I hear one thing in the building and one thing outside of the building. I’ll be reading one thing, and I’m like, “That’s not true”,’ she continued.
‘I’ve decided I’m going to stay out of the drama – and there is some drama.’
When asked about Dokoupil’s promotion, King insisted she was ‘happy’ for her former co-host that he landed the hot seat anchoring CBS Evening News.
‘Tony’s promotion is certainly going to mean changes at CBS Mornings,’ King said.
‘There’s no question about that, so we shall see.’
When Weiss stepped in, she made the decision to promote King’s co-host Tony Dokoupil to anchor the evening news at the beginning of the new year. (Pictured: King and Dokoupil in June)
Weiss has also recently poached presenter Matt Gutman from ABC News. King remained non-committal when pressed about her negotiations to stay in her current role.
‘I like the job and I’m told they liked me,’ she said.
Rumors of King leaving CBS were sparked by reports in November that she would leave in the spring, and sources told Variety at the time that she may be handed a new role amid Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance Media.
Asked about the report in December by the Daily Mail on the red carpet for the 2025 Footwear News Achievement Awards, King followed her vague response that she also gave to Sherri Shephard.
‘I’m still there, I’m planning to be there,’ King said at the time.
When questioned if there was anything she could address about the situation, she playfully replied: ‘No, what do you know?’
CBS News said in a statement: ‘There have been no discussions with Gayle about her contract that runs through May 2026. She’s a truly valued part of CBS and we look forward to engaging with her about the future.’
The Daily Mail contacted CBS for comment on King’s meeting with Weiss.
Weiss was appointed to the helm of CBS News by Paramount CEO David Ellison, and she has reportedly been tasked with ridding the broadcaster of its woke bias and dwindling ratings.
When asked about her possible departure at CBS, King told the Daily Mail on the red carpet for the 2025 Footwear News Achievement Awards in December: ‘I’m still there, I’m planning to be there’
As Weiss floated ideas for how to revitalize the company, she sparked controversy within the ranks at CBS after positing controversial lawyer Alan Dershowitz as the kind of ‘charismatic’ voice she is looking for.
Weiss made the claim at the Jewish Leadership Conference last month.
She said in a panel discussion that a recent debate on her anti-woke media company, The Free Press, hosted between the 87-year-old former lawyer and former NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch, was emblematic of her vision for the future of CBS News.
‘Now these are people that have wildly different opinions on the Second Amendment, and yet showing that they could have good faith, very passionate, very charismatic disagreement and still like each other at the end of the day, we think it’s important,’ Weiss told the audience.
She went on to call Dershowitz and Loesch ‘center left and center right,’ and claimed they represent the views of most Americans.
The remark drew scrutiny as Dershowitz’s name was repeatedly found in the ongoing release of the Epstein Files, and he was previously an attorney for the late disgraced financier.
