‘The Drew Barrymore Show’: Gayle King Joked About Having “A Rib Removed” For Her Sports Illustrated Cover

By Samantha Nungesser Twitter @samjnungesser
Published May 23, 2024, 11:36 a.m. ET

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Gayle King is making waves with her Sports Illustrated cover. While the 69-year-old journalist was encouraged to eat a cheeseburger a day before the sexy swimsuit shoot, she originally thought that she would need to have a “rib removed.”

King joined Drew Barrymore and Ross Mathews at the Drew’s News desk for this morning’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, which left its typical studio and planted itself in the middle of Times Square.

As the trio gushed over the Sports Illustrated cover, King revealed that she did not have to change anything about her lifestyle leading up to the photoshoot.

“I found out maybe three weeks before. [I said], ‘Can I have a rib removed? Now I’m gonna have to exercise. Now I’m gonna have to starve myself,'” King recalled. “She said, ‘Nope, don’t do any of those things. We want you to do what you always do.’”

King continued, “That’s the beauty of it. They’re not telling you to come and be something that you’re not or look something that you don’t normally look.”

The television personality said she then decided to eat a cheeseburger and a cupcake the day before she was photographed, noting that it was an “honor” to be chosen for the cover.

“I didn’t want to look ridiculous. I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard. I just had my second grandchild,” she said. “I didn’t want to look ridiculous but I like cleavage. I like tasteful cleavage. I think you can be sexy without being vulgar and I think Sports Illustrated does that very well.”

'The Drew Barrymore Show'
Photo: CBS

According to King, she also thought she was being “punked” when they told her she would be on the cover.

“I knew I was gonna be inside [the issue] and I was happy, honest to God, just being inside,” she told Barrymore. “Because who would think somebody like me at this stage would be on the cover of Sports Illustrated? So I was really grateful just to be included.”

King added, “When they brought it out and said I was gonna be on the cover, I almost lost my freaking mind.”

The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays on CBS. You can check the website for local airtimes.