Gayle King on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover: ‘Are you punking me?’

“CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King revealed her shock when asked to pose for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s 60th anniversary edition, telling the magazine she thought was being pranked at the time.
“I honest to God thought I had been ‘Punk’d,’” King, 69, told Sports Illustrated Swimsuit of the moment she got the call from Editor-in-Chief MJ Day.
“Punk’d” was a practical joke reality show that first aired on MTV in 2003 and involved pranking Hollywood figures.
“And when I called MJ back at Sports Illustrated [Swimsuit], I actually said, ‘Are you punking me?’ That was my initial reaction. I actually didn’t believe it,’” she added.
King was surprised for a second time Tuesday when she found out her shoot was also used for the cover of the 60th anniversary edition of the magazine.
Fellow cover models Kate Upton and Hunter McGrady dropped the news during an interview Tuesday on “CBS Mornings.”
“I’m on the cover?” King responded, as Upton showed her a copy of the magazine. “They told me I was just going to be on the inside.”
King said she was speechless and thanked photographer Yu Tsai for his guidance in posing.
“I just never saw myself this way. I still don’t see myself this way. But when I look at that … I go, ‘I look damn good,’” she said on “CBS Mornings.”
King traveled to Mexico for the shoot, where she said she was reminded of the power of recognizing and uplifting all women.
“I think it’s important to celebrate women of all ages, all colors, all sizes, you know why? Because that’s who we are as women people,” King told Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.
The journalist said she does not plan on slowing down anytime soon.
“I look at these people and I say, ‘Why? Are you slowing down?’ Success is liking what you do, liking how you do it, and liking who you are. And I just think, ‘Check, check, check,’” King said. “As long as I still feel that way about any job that I have, I don’t intend to stop.”
The 60th anniversary edition will be released Friday.
King has co-hosted “CBS Mornings” for more than a decade. She also co-hosted a CNN talk show with Charles Barkley for about six months that struggled to gain a foothold in the cable news ratings space.