CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has
reiterated that he's very proud to be gay.
The 45-year-old Cooper came out gay
last year after ducking rumors for years.
He discussed coming out as part of a
lecture series at Smith College in Northampton two Sundays ago.
Cooper said that he felt that since he
was open with friends and family and his employers that he wasn't
actually closeted.
“I was just living my life. You
know, partners and going out. Wasn't hiding or anything, or bringing
a girl date anyplace,” he said during the casual forum.
“In my mind I was out. But as a
reporter … Like, I don't know who Brian Williams is sleeping with,
nor do I really care. His wife, I think.”
“It's a weird thing. Now in this age
where reporters are now well-known people and entities that there is
sort of this expectation that you know more about them. But I don't
think that helps in terms of story telling.”
“There were people who felt that I
wasn't being open enough. And that by not saying something publicly
that I was sending a message, which was that there was something I
was ashamed about or something I'm uncomfortable with. None of which
was true. … I could not be happier being gay. I'm incredibly proud
of being gay. I would not change it for the world. The greatest
blessing of my life,” he said to cheers from the audience. (The
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