Jane Pauley Applauds Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell for How They Handled Charlie Rose's Exit (Exclusive)

Jane Pauley WGA
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The 'CBS Sunday Morning' anchor spoke with ET at the 70th Annual Writers Guild Awards in New York City.

Jane Pauley has a lot of praise for CBS This Morning co-anchors Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell. 

The 67-year-old journalist -- who is the current anchor of CBS Sunday Morning -- spoke with ET at Sunday's 70th Annual Writers Guild Awards in New York City about Charlie Rose being fired from CBS This Morning in November over accusations of sexual harassment. 

"I think they handled it painfully, but they handled it painfully well. It was no slow motion debate. It was tragic," Pauley said about how Rose's ousting was handled by the network and the morning show.

Pauley was most impressed with the way King and O'Donnell addressed the allegations against the 76-year-old newsman on CBS This Morning.

"I thought Gayle and Norah were exceptionally honest and eloquent," she expressed. "It's a tragedy but one we learn from and there's no going back. I imagine there's a lot of repeating but there's no going back."

John Dickerson recently replaced Rose on CBS This Morning and in an exclusive interview with ET last month, King explained why he was the right person to fill the empty anchor chair. 

"John Dickerson has a very big following and he's super smart, so he comes with the political gravitas and he's a bestselling author," she cheerfully shared. "Last time I checked, he was on People magazine for the most beautiful people list. I don't know if that qualifies you to anchor the news, but it doesn't hurt to have someone good to look at. He is very excited about joining Norah and I, and we are excited to welcome him to the table."

Here's more of ET's interview with King:

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