Veteran news anchor Gayle King sparked an uproar on social media after asking guest Roger Bennett about his "tiny child penis" during an interview about his new book and his love for American culture.

The British broadcaster and author sat down with King on her 'CBS This Morning' show to discuss the release of his new book, but received a bizarre question from the host instead. Bennett was lauded for his handling of the comments, which came after a clip of the 'Men in Blazers' co-host discussing America and his journey to becoming a US citizen, the Daily Caller reported.

RELATED ARTICLES

Gayle King slammed for asking if Prince Philip died of natural causes: ‘Suppose she thinks they pulled the plug’

Gayle King slammed for asking Stacey Abrams about dating life, Internet calls it ‘internalized misogyny, sexism’

The segment showed Bennett reading passages from the book praising cultural icons such as the Beastie Boys and John Cougar Mellencamp, with the Statue of Liberty as his backdrop. “This book is a love letter to America written by a gent who came of age with the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline painted as a mural on his bedroom wall and ended up moving here. And for whom the act of becoming an American citizen is the single greatest achievement of my life," he said.

Bennett appeared to be moved to tears as the segment came to a close. "Quite a lot to watch that," he insisted. "So beautiful," King commented, before bizarrely adding, "something that’s not so beautiful, you write on page 56 you were a late bloomer with a tiny child penis that looked like a ball spigot."
 
"Some things don't change Gayle," Bennett quipped in response, despite being taken aback. "America can change many things, Gayle," he added.

King drew the ire of social media users, some of whom labeled the CBS host "unprofessional" and a "pervert." "@GayleKing Your comment about Mr. Bennet's 'Penis' was unprofessional at best. But you are a Liberal and you can't put class into a liberal for sure. You must have wanted to see his privates, huh?" one Twitter user wrote.

"Absolutely horrible. Much respect to Rog for handling it like a prince," another added. "Maybe @GayleKing should be put on a sexual pervert list. The nicest ppl turn out to have deviant perverse behavior Save & protect our children! WHY would anyone talk about 'child penis,'" a third chimed in.

"@GayleKing could not be a serious journalist bring this up out of some much more. Just a chick looking for clicks. I have a different view of her now," a comment read.

"These sickos being children & sex into everything," another complained. "Just one more reason I don’t watch those shows with such disgusting women! She did not have to choose that particular phrase in the book to embarrass herself, the author, and make the interview uncomfortable. What’s the matter with her?" another user said.

The CBS anchor, however, later told the author how "touched" she was by his novel. Bennett, who was actually born in Liverpool, England, subsequently recounted the details of how he became a naturalized citizen. 

"If you have stood in a courtroom, 162 people from 46 countries and you say the oath of allegiance, and you look left and right, you see people who have crawled through deserts, who’ve survived a civil war, who have escaped turmoil driven by the idea of America, then you know that that idea of America in the world shines so bright, drives people, gives them incredible courage and joy," Bennett said. "And that’s my message for you on Independence Day," he concluded.