Almost a week after creating a firestorm by calling Gayle King “a dog-head b—” and telling her to beware “before we come get you,” Snoop Dogg took to his Instagram account again Wednesday, this time to formally apologize to the newscaster.
“Two wrongs don’t make no right. When you’re wrong, you gotta fix it,” he said in his latest Instagram video, which included a subtitled transcription to make sure no one missed his message amid the glitchy audio. “So with that being said, Gayle King, I publicly tore you down by coming at you in a derogatory manner based off of emotions, me being angry at questions that you asked. Um, (I) overreacted. Should have handled it way different from that. I was raised way better than that. So I would like to apologize to you publicly for the language that I used and calling you out of your name and just being disrespectful.”
The rapper-actor continued, “I didn’t mean for it to be like that. I was just expressing myself for a friend that wasn’t here to defend himself” — meaning Kobe Bryant. “A lot of people look up to me and they love me and they appreciate me, so I want to let them know that anytime you mess up, it’s okay to fix it. It’s okay to man up and say that you’re wrong. I apologize. Hopefully we can sit and talk — privately. Have a good day.”
Snoop Dogg had taken heat for his previous social media videos directed at King, including not just last week’s incendiary firestarter but a follow-up Sunday in which he tried to clarify his earlier remarks — insisting “I didn’t threaten her” and “I’m a non-violent person” — while stopping short of any contrition at the time.
In his initial post, Snoop Dogg said, “You ain’t come after f—ing Harvey Weinstein asking them dumb-ass questions. I get sick of y’all. I wanna call you one. Is it okay if I call her one? Funky dog-head b—-! How dare you try to tarnish my motherf—ing homeboy’s reputation, punk motherf—er? Respect the family and back off, b—-, before we come get you!”
Some of the rapper’s supporters claimed that the fire Snoop was taking was itself an overreaction, and that the “come get you” warning was common language threatening nothing more dire than a social media outpouring. Any such parsing might have been a fine point in a situation where CBS News president Susan Zirinsky has said King is laying low and traveling with heightened security due to death threats. Even with the non-violence understood, the misogynistic tone of his initial remarks wasn’t likely to leave the hip-hop star and part-time actor in good stead in a Hollywood suddenly much more attuned to women’s issues, short of the apology that came Wednesday.
Snoop Dogg was not alone in taking offense to King’s interview with basketball player Lisa Leslie, in which the newscaster asked whether the late Bryant’s legacy was affected by a sexual assault case that was settled out of court. Defending her interview, King took public issue with CBS excerpting a clip of that exchange “totally out of context,” in a “very jarring” fashion, to publicize “a very wide-ranging interview.”
Among those defending King from a barrage of social media attacks was New Jersey senator Cory Booker, who tweeted, “For those of you criticizing Gayle King, go watch her full interview. For many of you, check your misogyny. For those threatening her and inciting violence, stop it immediately. This is unacceptable. We must do better.”
Susan Rice tore into Snoop Dogg more specifically, tweeting his video and writing: “This is despicable. Gayle King is one of the most principled, fair and tough journalists alive. Snoop, back the **** off. You come for Gayle King, you come against an army. You will lose, and it won’t be pretty.”
He came under fire as well from Hollywood personalities like Amber Tamblyn (“Shame on you, Snoop. A dog-head b—-? Really? To Gayle King, one of our most beloved women and journalists? You just lost a fan and I hope you lose a lot more for this”) and Rose McGowan (“Snoop & others it’s time to stop terrorizing Gayle King … Truth hurts. Death hurts. Grow the f— up”).
The rapper’s attempt to atone Wednesday extended to a caption he included with his latest Instagram post, in which he attributed his change of heart and manner to his mother. “Had a talk with my momma. Thank u mamma… 2 wrongs don’t make it right… time to heal … @gayleking Peace n love… Praying for u and your family as well as Vanessa and the kids.”