June 20th 2023.
Gayle King, host of CBS Mornings, took the time to recognize that their only white co-host, Tony Dukoupil, was missing from the news desk on Juneteenth. She jokingly asked if anyone was aware that their only white co-host was not in attendance. Joined by fellow Black co-hosts Nate Burleson and Vladimir Duthiers, King laughed as she said “and we’re still here… I hope Tony is enjoying his Juneteenth holiday!”
Burleson and Duthiers shared in the laughter as Burleson quickly added, “Tony, we love you”. The clip of King’s joke went viral, causing Twitter users to chime in with their reactions. Many users made light of the situation, imagining what Dukoupil might have been doing on the newly celebrated federal holiday. One user compared it to a video of a white man singing along to a popular Kevin Gates song.
Others, however, called CBS out for allowing Dukoupil to take the day off, while the Black co-hosts still had to come to work. One user tweeted “@CBSNews yall wrong for that”. Others laughed at the comments, but some pointed out that comments like this could be damaging to King’s job.
Dukoupil has been co-anchoring the morning news show for almost five years, while Burleson and King have been with the show for two and twelve years respectively. Though King’s joke was met with mixed reactions, the light-hearted moment aimed to highlight the importance of the day and the disparities among different people of color.
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