Gayle King called out scammers during a recent CBS Mornings interview moments after receiving valuable advice.
She recently celebrated her 70th birthday with her good friend Oprah Winfrey, who brought plenty of surprises.
Among them was a surprise birthday bash with family and friends, followed by Oprah inviting Tyler Perry over to surprise Gayle on her “actual birthday.”
Her CBS Mornings co-stars also surprised her with a visit from The Temptations on set to serenade her with a recreated version of their hit, My Girl.
After a brief holiday break from appearing on the morning program, Gayle returned to her job at CBS earlier this week.
She and co-stars Nate Burleson and Tony Dokoupil interviewed award-nominated actress June Squibb, who appears in Thelma.
Gayle King blasted scammers during an interview with Thelma star
In Thelma, June Squibb portrays a tough grandmother trying to recover what was stolen from her after she was scammed. Gayle King asked her about getting to do all her stunts, which Squibb said involved riding a scooter.
She admitted she had never ridden a scooter before but insisted on doing the various scenes herself.
That worried some crew members on the movie set, as they tried to get a stunt double to step in. They even had a stunt coordinator run alongside the scooter while she was doing some scenes, thinking, “She’s gonna kill herself.”
She even bumped into her co-star’s scooter during the movie, which she said they told her a stunt person would do for her. June still performed that scene herself.
Gayle called attention to a powerful message the movie delivers through its story.
“What I liked is the message about scamming old people,” she said during the interview, adding, “I think there’s a special place in hell for people who do that, number one.”
She mentioned that June’s character in Thelma decided not to allow the individuals to scam her and would go after them.
“I love that. The determination, the grit that this woman had,” June told her.
June Squibb delivered valuable advice about aging
Gayle recently turned 70, and she received helpful advice from June. The 95-year-old spoke about the importance of age and how to think about it.
Gayle’s co-star Nate asked June if the movie helped her realize you can “age gracefully” and “find adventure” at any age.
“You know, at my age, you’re interested in age,” she said, and Gayle asked what she meant by that.
“Well, I mean, you have to look at it. You can’t ignore it, and you also have to find out where it fits you in what you can do and what you can’t do. I felt that was so strong in [Thelma],” she said.
June’s co-star in the movie was legendary actor Richard Roundtree. Thelma was his last movie role before he passed away at 81 last year.
She called him “wonderful” to work with on the movie and said he was “genuinely” interested in the role to show he was “more than Shaft.”
Gayle asked what inspired June to keep working at 95 rather than resting on her laurels.
“Well, I enjoy it. I really do, and also, I think some of the roles I’m being offered now are some of the most interesting roles in my career,” she said.
“I think you have to accept the changes because if you don’t, it gets very sticky, but once you accept those changes, then don’t think that you’re stopped,” June said.
“Growing old is not damning,” she added as part of her advice for others who are aging.