United Kingdom, April 25 -- Oprah Winfrey cried tears of pride when Gayle King flew into space.

The media mogul was seen looking emotional when her best friend joined an all-female crew on a Blue Origin flight earlier this month, but the 70-year-old presenter dismissed speculation her pal was worried about her, insisting Oprah wept because she knew "what it took" for Gayle to take part.

Gayle told E! News: "She was so welled up. I know she said at one point [that] she was proud of me.

"When people saw her crying, people said, 'Oh, she's so worried. She thinks something's gonna happen.'

"That wasn't it at all. She was crying because she knew what it took for me to do that, and so when I came [back] she was saying, 'I'm so proud of you....