“CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King is a consummate professional who seems willing to go anywhere for a good story. However, one place she never expected to find herself is on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
As the media outlet celebrates the 60th anniversary of its famous annual edition, the journalist is one of the legends appearing on the special edition cover.
“It wasn’t something I dreamed about,” King told PEOPLE, “but it was one of the highlights of all the things I’ve done because I never thought this would be possible.”
Make no mistake...it’s a huge deal for a 69-year-old Black woman to grace the cover of a swimsuit magazine. Her emotional outburst after being surprised with the cover on Tuesday’s episode of “CBS Mornings” was truly beautiful. King explained that her grandmother told her she wasn’t as pretty as other girls, so this moment was something she never imagined.
“They told me I was just going to be on the inside! It’s not a dummy cover? This is going to be on the newsstands? Oh my God! Oh my God,” King exclaimed. “I’m floating, I’m floating, I can’t believe it. Never in my wildest dreams! Never, ever, ever.”
Fellow cover stars Kate Upton and Hunter McGrady also appear in the segment, with McGrady telling King, “sexy isn’t an age, sexy isn’t a size.” She went on to call King’s cover “so inspiring to women of all ages.”
King also explained that she had no interest in being retouched. She joked about losing a few dimples, but she didn’t want any huge changes.
They said, ‘what about retouching?’ I said, ‘I don’t really want retouching.’ I don’t mind if you take out a couple of dimples in the thighs however, but I really didn’t want it,” King said.
Whether or not you think the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue still matters, it’s clear this really means something to King and it’s absolutely beautiful to witness the sheer joy on her face as her cover is revealed.