King: 'Oprah Winfrey is not gay'

US chatshow host Oprah Winfrey is not gay, according to her close friend Gayle King.

Speaking at the Glamour Women Of The Year Awards, King insisted that the pair are just work colleagues and close friends.

"The thing is, if we were gay, we would tell you. We would so tell you. We wouldn't try to keep that a secret because there's nothing wrong with being gay," Hollywoodscoop quotes her as saying.

"So if we were, we would tell you. The truth of the matter is we're not. It's hard enough for me to get a date on a Saturday night as it is.

"This isn't a rumour I'm trying to continue to explore, but no there's nothing, there's nothing wrong with it."

Last month, Rosie O'Donnell fuelled speculation that Winfrey and King are a couple during an appearance on Howard Stern's radio show.

"I don't know. I think [Oprah's] never been married and she's exceptionally close to Gayle," she said. "I don't know that she and Gayle are necessarily doing each other but I think they are the emotional equivalent of..."

"A gay couple," Stern said.

"When they did that road trip, that's as gay as it gets," O'Donnell added. "And I don't mean it to be an insult either. I'm just saying, listen, if you ask me, that's the couple."