Gayle King Reveals Reason Why She Turned Down Oprah’s Offer to Take Over Talk Show [VIDEO]

*Gayle King has revealed that she was tapped to take over Oprah Winfrey’s daytime talk show but she turned down the gig because it wouldn’t have been the best move for her kids.

“It would be great for me, it’d be really great for me,” King shared with actress Drew Barrymore, as the first guest on the debut episode of her digital series, “The Art of the Interview,” released on Thursday.

King said her bestie Winfrey offered her the job after her divorce from William Bumpus in 1993.

“This was way back when Oprah had her show and she was talking about giving the show up because she wanted to go into acting,” King recalled. “She wanted to act full time because she loved acting. Her plan was, ‘You move to Chicago and we will incorporate you into the show for a year, so that at the end of the year then I can sort of pass the baton.'”

READ MORE: Oprah Winfrey’s Magazine to End Print Publication After 20 Years

Looks like @DrewBarrymore found her first guest, and she has future talk show host written all over her! #DrewBarrymoreShow premieres September 14. Check local listings. pic.twitter.com/v2tsGI1upt

— The Drew Barrymore Show (@DrewBarrymoreTV) July 30, 2020

“Imagine, a huge opportunity! I was really excited about that. We were divorced, so the kids were still young, and then I realized that that wouldn’t be fair to them,” she said of navigating her career and parenting. “It would be great for me, really great for me! But that wouldn’t be fair to them.”

King shares a daughter, Kirby, and son, William Jr., with her ex-husband. She told Barrymore that when Oprah wanted to give her the show, she refused to sacrifice the love and security her children needed at the time. 

“So in the end, I just decided to not take her up on that offer. But favorite daughter, Kirby, favorite son, Will, their wellbeing to me was more important than whatever career opportunity I could have had at the time,” she said. “And I don’t regret that.”

Barrymore’s “The Art of the Interview” is one of several digital projects she’s cooking up, that will roll out ahead of the premiere of her hour-long talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, on Sept. 14.

Scroll up and watch her dish with Gayle King via the YouTube clip above. 

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