In an interview with Vanity Fair, CBS This Morning host and O Magazine editor-at-large Gayle King answered the question: "Which living person do you most despise?"
You might think it would be her ex-husband William Bumpus, whom she's said cheated on her. Instead, though, it was a much-despised figure we often see throughout pop culture: the Other Woman.
"'Despise' is a strong word," she said. However, she added, "I’m not a huge fan of the woman I caught naked with my now ex-husband on June 24, 1990, at 9:16 P.M.—but I don’t remember the details."
If Bumpus did indeed cheat on King with this woman, they both did something wrong — but it's the woman who gets the bulk of the hate. Similarly, when Beyoncé's lyrics led people to speculate her husband had cheated with "Becky with the Good Hair," everybody obsessed over who Becky was rather than condemning Jay-Z.
Why do we always attack the Other Woman rather than the man who cheats with her? Perhaps it's a form of self-protection not to despise someone you once built a life with. But it may also have to do with the fact that cheating — and sexuality in general — is more permitted in men, and women have been trained to view one another as enemies.
However, King also said in the interview that "there’s nothing better than women who support and encourage other women." It's understandable that someone who allegedly slept with her husband might be an exception to this sentiment — as long as we remember he deserves at least half the blame himself.
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