In one of the more uncomfortable morning talk show interviews you will ever see, CBS This Morning host Gayle King spoke to Miya Ponsetto, the so-called “SoHo Karen” who was arrested on Thursday after falsely accusing a Black teenager of stealing her phone.
The incident took place last December at the Arlo Hotel in Manhattan’s SoHo district, where Ponsetto confronted Keyon Harrold, a prominent jazz musician, and his 14-year-old son, Keyon Harrold, Jr., about her missing phone. “In the video, Ms. Ponsetto can be seen confronting Mr. Harrold and his son after they walk into the hotel lobby, insisting without evidence that Keyon Jr. has her cellphone,” the New York Times reported. “Ms. Ponsetto can be seen asking a hotel manager to help her, after which the manager identifies himself and asks Keyon Jr. to produce a cellphone, in an apparent attempt to verify Ms. Ponsetto’s claim.” Ponsetto then tackled the teenager and tried to “rummage” through his pockets. The phone was discovered by an Uber driver later that day.
In the hours before she was arrested (she “nearly slammed her car door on a deputy and needed to be yanked from her ride during her arrest,” according to authorities), Ponsetto sat down with King for a “disastrous interview” that, I mean… just watch.
The 22-year-old woman caught on camera allegedly physically attacking a 14-year-old Black teen and falsely accusing him of stealing her phone was arrested in California.
In an exclusive interview, Miya Ponsetto and her lawyer spoke with @GayleKing hours before she was arrested. pic.twitter.com/ezaGkcWZ8j
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) January 8, 2021
The “Daddy” hat, the defensiveness, the “I am a 22-year-old girl” excuse (I’m still trying to make sense of, “I don’t… racism is… how is one girl accusing a guy about a phone a crime?”). But it’s Ponsetto snapping at King and telling her “enough” that really set people off. As pointed out by activist and writer Charlotte Clymer, “I don’t know why Miya Ponsetto’s lawyer didn’t step in and end this disaster.” Through it all, King does an incredible (and incredibly patient) job of letting Ponsetto, who claims that she’s “super sweet” and “never, never meant” to hurt Harrold Jr., dig her own grave, essentially.
Y’all are NOT ready to get in the ring w/ @GayleKing. She gonna slow walk you into your own confession. And she’ll do it calmly and measured, using only footage, the facts, and your own words agasint you. This was a pleasure to watch. https://t.co/4JIDmW0B1q
— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) January 8, 2021
i literally cannot imagine being that disrespectful to anyone, much less GAYLE KING
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) January 8, 2021
Gayle King’s energy is always appreciated and necessary, especially when it comes to needing the patience to do some of these interviews she’s been doing. https://t.co/ZsmIadjPjv
— Kayla James KCCI (@KaylaJamesKCCI) January 8, 2021
The actual audacity of coming on Good Morning America, in a DADDY hat no less, because you want to explain why you attacked a Black teenager for… not having your phone? Only to put your hand in Ms. Gayle’s face and say “enough.”
There are too many layers to this onion. pic.twitter.com/zxnAovr4JD
— Justin Kirkland (@justinkirkland4) January 8, 2021
Time and time again, I’ve watched Gayle sit through interviews while the person she’s interviewing is blatantly disrespectful. God grant me the temperament of Gayle King. https://t.co/WuQw2QmcYC
— Kristen Holloway (@KHollowayWSB) January 8, 2021
after that whole interview of defensiveness instead of accountability for and ownership of her actions, she throws in that “enough” to @gayleking?
TO MS. GAYLE KING?!
i think she might actually be delusional. https://t.co/JEUSIPG23J
— EricaJoy (@EricaJoy) January 8, 2021
I’ve got a hat like that (mines cuter IMO) and I wear it as a joke with my friends and cause I got cool dad energy. Never in my life would I consider wearing it to a serious interview especially not with journalist queen gayle king https://t.co/SVM8dtZ1kX
— Weird Girl (@derangedpsychic) January 8, 2021
I hope Gayle King gets her yearly awards for her exceptional interviewing skills, because –
https://t.co/aLFp5hVJ1P
— Joel Lutimba Lumala (@joelluts) January 8, 2021
It’s the way she flicked her hand at GAYLE KING and said “Enough” for me
I swear I heard a Black mother break off a switch somewhere in the distance. https://t.co/QTzLfc0g4q
— Luria Freeman (@lulahoop_) January 8, 2021
I can’t tell what’s the “best” thing:
-the daddy cap
– disrespecting gayle fucking king, one of the most recognizable Black reporters
– the absolutely terrified attorney who’s shitting herself seeing her client act like a fool https://t.co/0r3enr0IKx— father john mitski (@tatianatenreyro) January 8, 2021
well, i’ve been accused of doing a racially motivated assault, time to put on a hat that says “Daddy” and go on national television to explain myself without any preparation https://t.co/Xlfg3de5HS
— Law Boy, Esq. (@The_Law_Boy) January 8, 2021
The video of this deranged woman who assaulted an innocent boy is instructive. She says she considers herself to be “super sweet.”
Bad guys do not see themselves as bad guys. They think they’re the heroes in the story. https://t.co/IRS6UT5Upj
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 8, 2021
imagine shushing gayle king and thinking you wouldn’t go straight to jail
— Sean Yoo (@SeanYoo) January 8, 2021
I can’t get over the hat.
not her wearing a daddy hat pic.twitter.com/sZw5ujE6JF
— hunter harris (@hunteryharris) January 8, 2021
Ponsetto is being held without bail at a pre-trial detention facility in Ventura, California.