"I am mortified. I am embarrassed and I am very angry."
That's Gayle King going NUCLEAR on her own network CBS for for releasing an interview clip with Kobe Bryant's good friend Lisa Leslie in which King asks about Kobe's rape case ... claiming CBS simply did her dirty.
Here's the deal ... earlier this week, CBS released a teaser clip from King's big interview with the WNBA star in which she asks if Bryant's legacy is "complicated" because of the 2003 sexual assault case.
King received a TON of backlash online from people who claim the question was insensitive and inappropriate -- including 50 Cent and Vivica A.