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Knew it all along
40%
90 votes
CNN broadcaster Anderson Cooper tells the world that he's gay
Anderson Cooper says he previously kept his sexual orientation private for personal and professional reasons.
It was hardly a secret to his friends. But for years, people have been speculating about Anderson Cooper's sexual orientation.
The host of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° has decided to keep it honest. In a letter to the Daily Beast's Andrew Sullivan, Cooper states things pretty bluntly: "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 CNN broadcaster explains in the letter that he hasn't publicly stated this before for various reasons.
First off, he values his privacy. But he also cited professional considerations.
"Since I started as a reporter in war zones 20 years ago, I've often found myself in some very dangerous places," Cooper writes. "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 adds that he has always believed that a reporter should not be required to publicly discuss how they vote, what their religion is, or who they love.
"I’ve stuck to those principles for my entire professional career, even when I’ve been directly asked 'the gay question,' which happens occasionally," Cooper states. "I did not address my sexual orientation in the memoir I wrote several years ago because it was a book focused on war, disasters, loss and survival. I didn't set out to write about other aspects of my life."
Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight. You can also follow the Straight's LGBT coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/StraightLGBT.
On that day, there will be such a degree of social acceptance achieved that no one will even care. Some people have blue eyes, some are thin, some play sports, some are gay, some like music... and on it goes.
Meantime, we try to protect gay kids from bullies, gay couples from violent lunatics, gay people from religious crackpots, and all of Oscar Wilde's best jokes from his plagiarizers.
Well done, Mr Cooper.
Andrew Shirvell, hopefully, will be next...
But keep that shit to yourself. No one wants to hear it.