Cooper comes out in attempt to raise awareness towards gay bullying
Anderson Cooper has confirmed one of the media’s worst kept secrets: He is gay.
Cooper has long been suspected to be gay, but he had never confirmed or denied allegations.
“The fact is, I’m gay,” Cooper said in an email to Andrew Sullivan, a Daily Beast blogger. “Always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud.”
Anderson Cooper has been a longtime friend of Sullivan, and when asked his thoughts on Entertainment Weekly’s story “The New Art of Coming Out,” which detailed the prominence and responsibilities of gay celebrities coming out of the closet to fight against America’s increase in gay bullying, he told Sullivan he is dedicated towards raising awareness, even if that means revealing his own sexual orientation.
“Andrew, as you know, the issue you raise is one that I’ve thought about for years,” Anderson Cooper said. “Even though my job puts me in the public eye, I have tried to maintain some level of privacy in my life. Part of that has been for purely personal reasons. I think most people want some privacy for themselves and the people they are close to.”
Anderson Cooper said a large reason for him not revealing his sexual orientation was because he wanted to remain removed from public scrutiny that could affect his job.
“But I’ve also wanted to retain some privacy for professional reasons,” Anderson Cooper said. “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. I’ve always believed that who a reporter votes for, what religion they are, who they love, should not be something they have to discuss publicly.”
Cooper’s revelation is not exactly shocking, as it has been publicly suspected for years that he was gay.
In 2007, Out magazine named Anderson Cooper as one of the 50 most powerful gays.
He was also featured in stories by The Onion and The New York Observer.
