Snoop Dogg is facing a backlash after he criticised CBS anchor Gayle King for asking questions about rape claims against late NBA star Kobe Bryant.
The rapper spoke out after watching King ask WNBA star Lisa Leslie about the historical accusations against Bryant during a longer interview.
In 2003, a 19-year-old woman accused Bryant of raping her in a hotel room while she was working as a front desk clerk at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in the Rocky Mountains town of Edwards, Colorado.
Prosecutors ended up dropping the sexual assault case against the player in 2004 after the woman declined to testify.
“Respect the family and back off—before we come get you,” Snoop said in response to King’s interview, in a video that also fired a volley of expletives at the TV host.
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Firefighters working at the scene of a helicopter crash in California which inlvoved NBA basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his teenage daughter Gianna and seven others
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All eight passengers and the pilot were killed in the crash
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People gathered near the scene
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LA county firefighters on the scene
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Smoke above a scene of a helicopter crash in the hills
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A crowd gathers near the scene
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Firefighters at the scene
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People gathered near the scene
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LA county firefighters are seen before taking off to a scene of a helicopter crash
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Firefighters work the scene
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People watch as smoke rises from the scene
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People react near the scene
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LA county firefighters on the scene
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Mourners look at an image of Kobe Bryant on a large screen outside the Staples Center
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Los Angeles County Fire Department fire fighters near the scene
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A woman reacts near the scene of the crash
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Law enforcement officers investigate the scene
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Mourners arrive at a makeshift shrine at Staples Center
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Mourners gather at a makeshift shrine
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A fan mourns the death of Kobe Bryant outside the Staples Center
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Fans mourn the loss outside the Staples Center
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People gather around a makeshift memorial
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Players and fans observe a moment of silence for former NBA player Kobe Bryant before a basketball game between the Phoenix Suns and the Memphis Grizzlies
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Fans gather at LA Live in Los Angeles to pay their respects
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Fans react at a memorial at the LA Live entertainment complex
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Kobe Bryant fans grieve at a small memorial at the entrance of the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks
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Thousands of fans mourn the loss of Kobe Bryant with make shift memorials across from Staples Center
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Mourners gather in Microsoft Square near the Staples Center to pay respects to Kobe Bryant
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Firefighters working at the scene of a helicopter crash in California which inlvoved NBA basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his teenage daughter Gianna and seven others
AP
2/30 LA County Fire personnel on the scene
All eight passengers and the pilot were killed in the crash
Instagram/timhortonphot/AFP
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People gathered near the scene
Reuters
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LA county firefighters on the scene
Reuters
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REUTERS
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Smoke above a scene of a helicopter crash in the hills
EPA/Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
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A crowd gathers near the scene
USA TODAY Sports
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Firefighters at the scene
EPA/Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
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People gathered near the scene
Reuters
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AP
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LA county firefighters are seen before taking off to a scene of a helicopter crash
LACoFD via Reuters
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Firefighters work the scene
AP
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People watch as smoke rises from the scene
Reuters
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People react near the scene
Reuters
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LA county firefighters on the scene
Reuters
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Mourners look at an image of Kobe Bryant on a large screen outside the Staples Center
Reuters
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Los Angeles County Fire Department fire fighters near the scene
AFP via Getty
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A woman reacts near the scene of the crash
AFP via Getty
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Law enforcement officers investigate the scene
Reuters
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Mourners arrive at a makeshift shrine at Staples Center
Reuters
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Mourners gather at a makeshift shrine
Reuters
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A fan mourns the death of Kobe Bryant outside the Staples Center
Getty
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Fans mourn the loss outside the Staples Center
USA TODAY Sports
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People gather around a makeshift memorial
AFP via Getty
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Players and fans observe a moment of silence for former NBA player Kobe Bryant before a basketball game between the Phoenix Suns and the Memphis Grizzlies
AP
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Fans gather at LA Live in Los Angeles to pay their respects
USA TODAY Sports
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Fans react at a memorial at the LA Live entertainment complex
EPA
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Kobe Bryant fans grieve at a small memorial at the entrance of the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks
AP
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Thousands of fans mourn the loss of Kobe Bryant with make shift memorials across from Staples Center
AP
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Mourners gather in Microsoft Square near the Staples Center to pay respects to Kobe Bryant
Reuters
But former US ambassador Susan Rice launched a scathing criticism of Snoop’s comments and demanded he “back the f*** off”.
“This is despicable,” she tweeted. “Gayle King is one of the most principled, fair and tough journalists alive. Snoop, back the **** off. You come for @GayleKing, you come against an army. You will lose, and it won’t be pretty.”
Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were part of a group of nine people who were killed last month in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
Maggie Haberman, White House correspondent for the New York Times, tweeted: “I hadn’t been following this but this is how Gayle King was attacked for raising the issue of the past Kobe Bryant rape allegation in an interview posted devoid of context.
“In the past year she’s also been screamed at on camera by R. Kelly for asking about abuse. Unsettling.”
Following Snoop’s post, Oprah Winfrey claimed that King had begun receiving death threats.
“She is not doing well,” an emotional Winfrey said during a TV appearance. “She is not doing well because she now has death threats and has to now travel with security. She is feeling very much attacked.”
“She’s not doing well and feels that she was put in a really terrible position,” she continued. “Because that interview had already ran and in the context of the interview, everyone seemed fine, including Lisa Leslie.”
She also said that King “hasn’t slept in two days”.
“Anybody can criticise anything, but the misogynistic vitriol to the point where it is dangerous to be in the streets alone …” she said, trailing off. “Because it’s not just the people who are attacking. It’s the other people who feel like they can take that message and do whatever they want.”
King later expressed anger at her CBS This Morning bosses for releasing what she felt was a “salacious” and “out of context” clip of her interview with Leslie.
CBS News said in a statement Thursday that King “conducted a thoughtful, wide-ranging interview” with Leslie and that the clip that was posted “did not reflect the nature and tone of the full interview.”
“We are addressing the internal process that led to this and changes have already been made,” a spokesperson said in the statement.
At the time of the allegations, Bryant said, “Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognise now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did.”