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Snoop Dogg denies threatening Gayle King over Kobe Bryant interview

(L-R) Snoop Dogg and Gayle King. CP Images Archive

WARNING: This article contains coarse language and may be offensive or inappropriate for some audience members. Please read at your own discretion.

Snoop Dogg has denied threatening the life of TV host Gayle King after scolding her in a viral video last week.

The Still rapper directed the expletive-laced rant towards the 65-year-old after she brought up sexual assault allegations against the late Kobe Bryant from 2003 during an interview with former WNBA star Lisa Leslie on CBS This Morning on Thursday.

Initially, Snoop, 48, said King was “way out of pocket” before calling her a “funky dog-haired b—h” and a “punk motherf–ker” as he accused her of trying to “tarnish” the NBA player’s reputation.

“Respect the family and back off, b—h, before we come and get you.”

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However, after much social media backlash, the world-renowned rapper has attempted to clarify his comments to the “70-year-old” in an additional video posted to his Instagram page on Saturday.

“I don’t want no harm to come to [King] and I didn’t threaten her, all I did was say, ‘Check it out, you outta pocket for what you doing and we watching you. Have a little more respect for Vanessa, her babies and Kobe Bryant’s legacy,'” he said.

Again, Snoop suggested that his intentions were merely meant as a warning to King, adding that he is a “non-violent person.”

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“When I said what I said, I spoke for the people who felt like Gayle was very disrespectful towards Kobe Bryant and his family.

“What I look like, [I’m] wanting some harm to come to a 70-year-old woman? I was raised way better than that.”

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In his initially scathing video, Snoop questioned why King chose to “come after” Bryant as opposed to somebody like Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced movie mogul.

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“We expect more from you, Gayle,” said Snoop. “Don’t you hang out with Oprah? Why y’all attacking us? We your people. You ain’t coming after f–king Harvey Weinstein asking those dumba– questions.”

It seems what triggered the Who Am I rapper was one specific question King had for Leslie, 47, during the controversial CBS This Morning interview, which came less than two weeks after Bryant’s death.

“It’s been said that his legacy is complicated because of a sexual assault charge, which was dismissed in 2004,” said King. “Is it complicated for you, as a woman, as a WNBA player?” she asked.

Leslie then defended the five-time NBA champion, who was also her close friend.

“It’s not complicated for me at all,” she said. “Kobe’s not [that] kind of guy.”

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“But Lisa, as his friend, you wouldn’t see it,” responded King.

Later on, Leslie replied, “I think the media should be more respectful at this time. If you had questions about it, you’ve had many years to ask him that. I don’t think it’s something that we should keep hanging over his legacy.”

The sexual assault case was dismissed in September 2004 after the accuser refused to testify.

On Jan. 26, Bryant died at the age of 41, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other victims in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif.

King was the target of much criticism following the airing of the interview.

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She responded to the backlash in her own Instagram video, expressing disappointment with her network for previewing the controversial snippet of the interview without providing the viewers with further context.

“I know that if I had only seen the clip that you saw, I would be extremely angry with me, too,” she said. “I am mortified. I’m 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.”

adam.wallis@globalnews.ca

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