Gayle King has called the rumor that she and Oprah Winfrey are in a lesbian relationship “stupid.”

The 57-year-old King recently joined CBS This Morning as a co-anchor and is an editor-at-large for O, The Oprah Magazine.

Rumors that King and Winfrey are involved in a romantic relationship have swirled for years.

King told Vanity Fair that she met Winfrey while working in Baltimore.

“Oprah and I have been friends since I was 21,” King said. “We met at a television station in Baltimore, WJZ. She was the anchor at the station, and I was hired as a production assistant/writer. You normally don't see the anchor hanging out with the production assistant, but it so speaks to who she is.”

And on those persistent gay rumors, King said, “Well, it used to be upsetting to me when it first happened years ago. But now, to me, it's so stupid. It doesn't bother me in the least. The thing that troubles me more than anything is that, if we were, why would we keep it a secret? Hiding it would not be her philosophy or my philosophy. That's why it's just so stupid to me.”