NEW YORK — After days of intense criticism, Snoop Dogg has publicly apologized to Gayle King for verbally attacking her.
The rant came after she brought up the rape allegations against the late Kobe Bryant in an interview with WNBA’s Lisa Leslie.
On Wednesday, the rapper apologized on Instagram saying, “Two wrongs don’t make no right. when you’re wrong, you gotta fix it".
“So with that being said, Gayle King, I publicly tore you down by coming at you in a derogatory manner based off of emotions of me being angry at a question you asked. Overreacted,” he said. “I should have handled it way different than that, I was raised way better than that, so I would like to apologize publicly for the language that I used and calling you out your name and just being disrespectful.”
Snoop Dogg was criticized for calling King crude names on Instagram. He also said she better back off “before we come get you,” and posted a slew of insulting photos and memes about her.
King herself was angry at CBS News for promoting a snippet of what was a wide-ranging interview on social media, which drew sharp reactions and accusations from some that she crossed the line. King, in her own Instagram message last week, said she could see why people might be upset if they only saw a brief portion of what was discussed.
Snoop Dogg, a friend of Bryant and ardent Lakers fan, wasn't the only one angry at King for her questioning — LeBron James and even Bill Cosby were among her critics — but his comments were among the most inflammatory and seen as a threat.
King’s best friend, Oprah Winfrey, said that King was “not doing well” and getting death threats because of the interview.
Support started pouring in for King, from the head of CBS News to former Obama administration official Susan Rice to award-winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates, who in an Instagram post chastised black men who attacked her.
Last week, Snoop Dogg responded to some of the backlash and denied threatening King, but in Wednesday’s post, he offered a full apology and said he was raised better than that. He said in the post’s caption that a talk with his mother set him right.
“I didn’t mean for it to be like that. I was just expressing myself for a friend that wasn’t there to defend himself,” he said.
He noted that he knows some people look up to him, so it added to his importance to apologize.
“Anytime you mess up, it’s OK to fix it, it’s OK to man up to say that you’re wrong,” he said. “I apologize. Hopefully, we can sit down and talk, privately.”
RELATED: Oprah says Gayle King not doing well after social media backlash over Kobe interview question
What other people are reading right now:
- No gun found after deputies respond to reports of shots fired at middle school
- Pictures of vehicles released in search for missing South Carolina 6-year-old girl
- Back on land: Florida family once stuck on a cruise ship without passports, a sick child
- One dolphin shot, another stabbed. Wildlife officers are searching for a killer
- Gerber launches national search for its next spokesbaby
