July 3, 2012
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The rumors are true
Rumors have gone around for years that Anderson Cooper was gay. Anderson always refused to talk publicly about his sexuality.
Anderson Cooper came 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,” he wrote in an email to The Daily Beast reporter Andrew Sullivan.
No one is really surprised that Anderson is gay. It was something that was pretty much known but not talked about. Anderson as a reporter tended to want people to focus on the things and people he was reporting about and not his sexuality.
Comments and reports from those who know Cooper suggest that the stigma of hiding in the closet finally outweighed the benefits of having a veil of privacy while working as a nonpartisan journalist in a time when gay advocacy has become a mainstream topic of debate.
I think it is nice that Anderson has finally come out into the public with the fact that he is gay. A good example of a reporter that is a member of the lgbtq community and is still able to have personal privacy would be Rachel Maddow. I believe that Anderson can still have his personal privacy while being a totally out of the closet member of the LGBTQ community. Stand up and be proud Anderson. You are a role model to many young people out there. You can be a wonderful influence to many young gay men out there just like Rachel Maddow is to many lesbian girls.
Comments (19)
I don’t have much to say other than I’m proud that he’s using his voice to come out as another image of what a gay person can do or be. The more the merrier.
I didn’t know about him or Rachel, I guess I haven’t paid attention. I agree, good for him!
I think it is awesome that he came out. I honestly wish we lived in a world where it didn’t matter if he was gay or not. He should be able to focus on his career and being a good reporter and not pave the way for LGBTQ rights. There should be no need for anyone to have to fight to be heard, respected, or treated like an individual.
I knew he was, but I always loved watching him because of the way he handled himself. So he’s gay? Big deal. I guess it’s cool he came out. But, why now and not years ago when society speculated. I wonder who his boyfriend is. I also wonder if he has said boyfriend, who wears the pants in the relationship
Good for him! I’m glad he was comfortable enough to do that. I’d love him either way, though.
(Don’t care how gay he is, he’s damn sexy.)
@smorales85 - “I guess it’s cool he came out. But, why now and not years ago when society speculated”
Because it takes balls and courage to come out when it is not popular. He doesn’t have that. He had to wait until it was EASY.
I didn’t know about him or Maddow either.
@EmilyandAtticus - @firetyger - Rachel lives in New York City and Western Massachusetts with her partner, artist Susan Mikula.
It was nice of Anderson to let Sullivan publish that private email.
I thought it was more fun when we had to guess at his sexuality.
The only thing that surprises me is that a celebrity being gay is still a subject of interest.
I thought it made perfect sense, not coming out. He deals with major world events and crises on a daily. I bet his own sexuality is the last thing on his mind. Being gay shouldn’t be a big deal. People in this country MAKE it a big deal.
That said, he will now become a role model for the queer community. Which is always positive.
@smorales85 - This is why we’re friends. We think alike!
@AncoraImparo - very well said!
A couple of things–I want people to be out and happy, but I think there’s so much more pressure to be out than there ever was before. Rachel Maddow says that one of her greatest regrets is that when she came out, she came out to the school newspaper, and her family saw it before she came out to them herself. She even says there’s still a lot of hurt there, even though she’s happy to be out.
I’m going to quote my friend Charles on this, because he said it better than me. Anderson Cooper, while it is wonderful to see him out, there was
“constant pressure put on him by many in the LGBT community to come out of the closet,
consistently guilting him and claiming he was ashamed of himself. No person should ever have
to define their sexuality to the world on consequence of being mocked
and socially ostracized. That’s inhumane. The LGBTA member who mocks a
person for choosing to remain in the closet is no worse than the
homophobic moron who mocks a person for being openly outside of it.
We need to learn that sexual freedom is an individual journey and that
attempting to manipulate such a path other than your own is immoral.”
So while I am happy for him that he is out, both he and Rachel Maddow came out under circumstances that they felt weighed on them immensely. People should be able to come out in the way they choose without pressure.
In his position it took strenght to do that. Good for him!!
@LadyboyRevolution - We still live very much in a time and society in which people are targeted for harassment for being LBGTQ. Staying in the closet meant at least a small degree of personal and professional safety; people could speculate but didn’t know for sure. I won’t be at all surprised if at some point in the very near future he is the target of a hate crime or sponsors start pulling support for his show. He probably agonized over it for a long time before he finally did it.
As a society we haven’t evolved enough to accept people for themselves, as individuals. Not yet, but thankfully we’re getting better.
@AncoraImparo - Agreed. He is an awesome guy and an excellent role model for kids. It must be so difficult to grow up gay or lesbian in this country, and seeing what AC has accomplished gives them not only some reassurance that they’re not alone, but knowledge that they can be strong and successful.
@ZombieMom_Speaks - your right I should not blame him for protecting his safety. I definitely get impatient that this issue because this issue should not be an issue at all. I am definitely more aggressive then most. I thought about it last night. I came to the conclusion that Obama has to be slow and gradual with this issue because people can’t handle change to quickly.
@LadyboyRevolution - And you would be right. It’s obvious he wants to get things done faster but he’s got to deal with people who are resistant to change and republicans blocking everything he does.