Anderson Cooper’s famously private life just became Monday morning’s latest breaking news.
He is, in his own words, “gay, always have been, always will be” and he “couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud.”
The respected CNN journalist, who has long dodged questions about his sexuality in the public eye, opened up to The Daily Beast columnist Andrew Sullivan in a recent email exchange.
In it, Cooper, 45, addresses the issues raised in a recent Entertainment Weekly feature, which chronicled the trend of gay people in public life who come out in relatively matter-of-fact ways.
“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 writes in the email. “As long as a journalist shows fairness and honesty in his or her work, their private life shouldn’t matter.
“I’ve stuck to those principles for my entire professional carer, even when I’ve been directly asked ‘the gay question,’ which happens occasionally.”
The daytime talk show host notes that he felt now was the right time to come forward because he has become concerned that his silence on the matter would be misinterpreted as shame.
Cooper gave Sullivan full permission to post his lengthy, revealing email online.
