Anderson Cooper. - PHOTO: andersoncooper.org
CNN’s Anderson Cooper, in an email published to The Daily Beast, writes, “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.”
Cooper’s statement comes in a conversation the CNN journalist has been having with blogger Andrew Sullivan about a cover story on gay celebrities in Entertainment Weekly.
Cooper said he hasn’t concealed his sexual orientation, but he’s tried to live a private life because a journalist should not be the story.
However, he wrote that he’s “begun to consider whether the unintended outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional principle. It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something – something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true.”
He also wrote, “I have always been very open and honest about this part of my life with my friends, my family, and my colleagues. In a perfect world, I don’t think it’s anyone else’s business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted. I’m not an activist, but I am a human being and I don’t give that up by being a journalist.”
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