Anderson Cooper: ‘The fact is, I’m gay.’

CNN new anchor Anderson Cooper revealed Monday that he is gay. The 45-year-old journalist came out in an email to the Daily Beast’s Andrew Sullivan, which was published Monday morning. For many years, the New York native’s sexual orientation had been questioned, but Cooper kept silent for personal and professional reasons. Cooper, who anchors the show “Anderson Cooper 360” and hosts the talk show “Anderson,” came out in response to an Entertainment Weekly article about how gay public figures are increasingly coming out in more restrained ways than in the past.

In his email to Sullivan, Anderson wrote “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, who has always been rather reticent, also said, “I still consider myself a reserved person and I hope this doesn’t mean an end to a small amount of personal space. But I do think visibility is important, more important than preserving my reporter’s shield of privacy.”