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# Anderson Cooper Comes Out: 'The Fact Is, I'm Gay'
July 02 2012
Written by Jack Mirkinson.
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THE POLITICS MEDIA - CNN news anchor and reporter Anderson Cooper has, at long last, publicly said he is gay. Cooper made the announcement in an email to writer Andrew Sullivan.[ \[LINK\]](http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/07/anderson-cooper-the-fact-is-im-gay.html)
"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. Cooper's sexuality has long been the subject of ample media speculation, but he has never publicly confirmed it -- a fact which he also seemed to address in the email to Sullivan:
"I have always been very open and honest about this part of my life with my friends, my family, and my colleagues. In a perfect world, I don't think it's anyone else's business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted. I’m not an activist, but I am a human being and I don't give that up by being a journalist."
[**You can read the full email here**](http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/07/anderson-cooper-the-fact-is-im-gay.html).
Previously, the 45-year-old CNN anchor and daytime talk show host has been [**romantically linked to Benjamin Maisani**](http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2011/01/anderson_cooper_4.php), the co-owner of New York City gay bars Eastern Bloc and Bedlam.
Cooper becomes the fifth, though by far the most high-profile, openly gay anchor in the cable news business. He joins CNN colleagues Don Lemon and Jane Velez-Mitchell, as well as MSNBC's Thomas Roberts and Rachel Maddow.
*(This report was filed by jack Mirkinson at [huffingtonpost.com](http://huffingtonpost.com) where it was first posted.)*
-cw
Tags: Anderson Cooper, CNN, out of the closet, gay
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 53
Pub: July 3, 2012
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