Oprah: "Not a better human" than Gayle King

(CBS News) - "There is not a better human being in the world as far as I'm concerned," Oprah Winfrey said Monday of "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King.

They've been buddies since Winfrey was 22 and King was 21.

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In addition to being longtime friends, the women have worked together for years, building up a media empire. King is editor-in-chief of "O, The Oprah Magazine," and previously hosted "The Gayle King Show," a live, weekday television interview program on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. The program, which featured a discussion of a broad variety of topics that include politics, cultural developments, was also broadcast on XM Satellite Radio, where it premiered in 2006.

Winfrey said of King, "She's going to become everybody's best friend on this morning show, I can see that. People are reacting. They say that to me in the streets about her, 'Oprah, I understand why she's your best friend.' You know why? I will tell you why. In all of our years of friendship, she's always been happier for me about anything that occurred in my life. When I left Baltimore and I was coming to Chicago, she was the happiest. When I got on 'The Color Purple,' she was the happiest."

"And I get madder than you do," King said.

"She gets madder," Winfrey said. "Last week when everybody was (giving OWN bad press), she was so upset. I was saying, 'I only read one thing. I'm not reading it all, so don't tell me.' But never a moment, a hint of jealousy. Always wanting what's best for me. That's what everybody needs in any kind of relationship or friendship."

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"And you want the same thing for me," King added.

"That's why when she came to CBS...I was like, 'I am so happy for her.' People are like, 'Aren't you upset?' and 'Why is she there?' And I was just so happy for her because I knew this is where she was supposed to be. I think this is the combination, y'all. I think CBS has finally gotten it right. I really do. I'm not just saying that."

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For more on Winfrey and King's friendship, watch the video in the player above.