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People: Anderson Cooper says, 'The fact is, I'm gay'
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CNN's Anderson Cooper, seen at the Daytime Emmy Awards, today told The Daily Beast that he is gay and didn't want to remain silent while discrimination and bullying continue to exist.
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Anderson Cooper is a proud gay man, and that's that.
In an e-mail response to his friend, Daily Beast columnist Andrew Sullivan, who asked Cooper to comment on the Entertainment Weekly cover story about gay celebrities coming out in a matter-of-fact way, CNN's Cooper sent an e-mail that included his declarative coming out: "The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud."
The journalist and talk-show host has been in the public eye most of his life, first as the son of heiress and fashion designer Gloria Vanderbuilt.
He wrote to Sullivan, "I have tried to maintain some level of privacy in my life. Part of that has been for purely personal reasons ... but I've also wanted to retain some privacy for professional reasons. Since I started as a reporter in war zones 20 years ago, I've often found myself in some very dangerous places. For my safety and the safety of those I work with, I try to blend in as much as possible, and prefer to stick to my job of telling other people's stories, and not my own. I have found that sometimes the less an interview subject knows about me, the better I can safely and effectively do my job as a journalist."
He said he had not addressed his sexual orientation in his memoir of several years ago "because it was a book focused on war, disasters, loss and survival."
Cooper said he chose to answer "the gay question now" because of events of the day."
"I've been reminded recently that while as a society we are moving toward greater inclusion and equality for all people, the tide of history only advances when people make themselves fully visible. There continue to be far too many incidences of bullying of young people, as well as discrimination and violence against people of all ages, based on their sexual orientation, and I believe there is value in making clear where I stand."
First Published July 2, 2012 12:27 am
