Anderson Cooper, who was technically in the closet for most of his journalism career, came out publicly this summer in a letter to fellow gay media personality Andrew Sullivan — but Cooper’s quiet and private nature meant that even his coming out was a relatively low-key affair.
While Anderson had been linked to New York City bar owner Benjamin Maisani for many years, he’d never gone on record as being officially and definitively gay, leading to much public speculation about the silver fox’s private life.
It seemed the more Anderson Cooper tried to quell interest in his love life, the more the fires of curiosity were stoked — and indeed, it’s not hard to see why, and it was certainly a sad day for womenkind when we learned that the smart and sexy CNN anchor batted for the other team.
Cooper recently discussed his decision to finally open up about his sexuality during the premiere of his chat show Anderson Live , telling co-host Kristen Chenoweth that he felt he reached a point that he could no longer stay silent while others were suffering — he explained:
On his newly revamped daytime show Anderson Live , Kristin Chenoweth discussed Anderson’s “big summer”, asking him what it was that made him decide, at this particular point, to come out of the closet.
“It just got to the point where — I’ve been torn for a long time between a desire as a reporter to just do my job and be known as a reporter — and at the same time I do think visibility is important. I do think that the tide of history only moves forward when everyone is fully visible.”
Cooper continues:
“I didn’t want to send a message that there was anything I was ashamed about or unhappy about or not comfortable with. That was the main thing for me. I appreciate all the support I got and all the encouragement. I am the same person I always was, I do the job just the same way.”
Were you surprised when Anderson Cooper came out of the closet?
