Appearing Sunday on 60 Minutes,
Apple CEO Tim Cook explained why he thinks being gay is a “gift.”
In announcing he's gay last year, Cook,
55, said that he considers being gay “among the greatest gifts God
has given me.”
Journalist Charlie Rose asked Cook
about his coming out.
“When you're in a minority group, it
gives you a sense of empathy of what it's like to be in the minority,
and you begin to look at things from different points of views, and I
think it was a gift for me,” Cook
said.
When Rose asked Cook why he didn't come
out sooner, Cook answered that he valued his privacy but eventually
realized the positive impact coming out could have on the next
generation.
“[I]t became increasingly clear to me
that if I said something that it could help other people. And I’m
glad, because I think that some kid somewhere, some kid in Alabama, I
think if they just for a moment stop and say, ‘If it didn’t limit
him, it may not limit me.’ Or this kid that’s getting bullied. Or
worse, I’ve gotten notes from people contemplating suicide. And so
if I could touch just one of those, it’s worth it. And I couldn’t
look myself in the mirror without doing it,” he said.