# Anderson Cooper comes out. Finally. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 2, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006 "2012-07-02T15:14:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/61 "2012-07-03T02:04:11Z")
Part of me feels bad. Because he felt it was necessary to keep from looking like he was ashamed and to be a role model. I want it to be a world where it isn’t anyone’s business who you sleep with (unless you choose to kiss and tell - or in Tim Gunn’s case, apparently not kiss and then tell anyway) and Cooper wanted his private life to be private. It isn’t a shock, everyone “knew.” He handled it with grace and class, and I am happy for the scared 12 year old kid in Missouri if this helps at all (but really, its Andersen Cooper, can anyone identify with Andersen Cooper - if he were a character in a novel you’d be “yeah, right - born rich, good looking, smart, funny, professionally successful on his own in an adventurous and challenging field - I buy Jason Bourne being real too”) - but it shouldn’t have ever been necessary for someone who wanted their private life to be private to need to come out. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/62 "2012-07-03T02:14:09Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I actually didn’t know he was in the closet. I could swear I remember he came out a couple of years ago. Me too. I don’t understand this. I remember hearing a very similar story as this a couple years ago and thinking to myself “Ahh, yeah, that does make sense”. I thought the “coming out” was over and done with. And if I had found out years earlier, how had it _not_? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/63 "2012-07-03T02:41:31Z")
I think the notion he had already come out might be his 2004 comment to Jerry Falwell. The Right Rev. had said something about how good decent honest taxpaying Americans shouldn’t have to pay for art or textbooks that included gays, to which Anderson responded “but _ **we** _ pay taxes too”. I don’t have the exact quote handy, but it was in a way that could have been him speaking as a gay man or posing a hypothetical retort gays could use, but in any case it was edited in the official transcript to “_ **they** _ pay taxes too”. Did anybody watch his show tonight and if so, did he mention it? (I DVR’d it but haven’t been home yet.) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/64 "2012-07-03T03:45:00Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I actually didn’t know he was in the closet. I could swear I remember he came out a couple of years ago. Looking at his Wikipedia entry, you may be thinking of either a 2005 interview where he gave an “I’d like to keep my private life private” answer to a question about his sexual orientation (a straight man almost certainly would have just said he was straight), or a 2007 _Out_ magazine piece that listed him as one of the most powerful gay men in America. Anyway, I don’t think it’s accurate to say Cooper was in the closet until now. He may not have been out to the public, but his sexual orientation became one of those things that “everybody knew” because he did little if anything to conceal it. He’s never said he _wasn’t_ gay, and AFAIK didn’t object to being referred to as gay in _Out_. His friends and family have apparently known he was gay for years. I don’t remember ever hearing of him being romantically involved with a woman, but I have heard that he’s been seen around town with a man believed to be his boyfriend. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/66 "2012-07-03T04:04:56Z")
Good for you, Anderson, and welcome to the “Out Club.” We’ve been waiting for you. But seriously, I wonder if this is going to affect his ability to report from certain locations in which it’s very hazardous to be gay. Like many of the countries in the Middle East or Africa, where there’s a death penalty for being out. I suppose this very question was one of the factors in his coming-out process. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/67 "2012-07-03T04:14:45Z")
[![](https://i.imgur.com/cHy6x.gif) ](https://i.imgur.com/cHy6x.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/68 "2012-07-03T04:17:24Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Did anybody watch his show tonight and if so, did he mention it? (I DVR’d it but haven’t been home yet.) He’s on assignment for 60 Minutes and not hosting AC360 tonight, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/69 "2012-07-03T04:18:55Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Good for you, Anderson, and welcome to the “Out Club.” We’ve been waiting for you. > > But seriously, I wonder if this is going to affect his ability to report from certain locations in which it’s very hazardous to be gay. Like …Alabama? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/70 "2012-07-03T04:47:43Z")
No, more like his on location reporting from Cairo during the Tahrir Square demonstrations before the fall of Mubarak last year. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/71 "2012-07-03T05:39:19Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > To be fair, Cooper was only second in that category. The world’s most obviously closeted homosexual remains [Marcus Bachmann](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFYB5-18CGo). > \ I dunno; [I’d nominate David Gest.](http://images.forbes.com/media/2011/04/06/0406_david-gest-liza-minnelli_485x340.jpg) (Is it just me, or does anyone else think Cam’s character on “Modern Family” was based on Marcus Bachmann?) > [@Sampiro](#): > > \ but many straights forget how much prejudice they still face, especially in the provinces. Hey, gay marriage has been legal in Canada for years now! > [@Ambivalid](#): > > …Alabama? Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/72 "2012-07-03T06:18:03Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I can’t imagine any bigger tell than how he giggles. If he didn’t lose ratings following the Depardieu Ridiculist incident, I don’t think they had anything to fear from him coming out. This is as far as I’d read, so far, and thought I’d google a video of said incident. Fricking Hee-Larious!! Actually had to pause it a couple times, we were laughing so hard! And now, I’ll finish reading the thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/73 "2012-07-03T06:33:27Z")
I didn’t know he was black. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/74 "2012-07-03T16:17:59Z")
I read this on [TalkingPointsMemo.com](http://TalkingPointsMemo.com) and wondered why I hadn’t seen a thread on the dope. Maybe I should start one? Nah, who cares really? I may be the only one who didn’t suspect this. I don’t have cable TV, so only saw AC on rare occasions when someone linked a clip. My gaydar also has pretty poor s/n…gotta be really flamboyant for me to take notice. In hindsight, I can see it now, of course. Here’s hoping AC’s career stays on track, not just for him, but for what that says about societal attitudes. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/75 "2012-07-03T16:19:45Z")
[Anderson Cooper gets the giggles](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSazc5u5CIw), for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. As someone commented, Anderson giggling is cuter than puppies. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/76 "2012-07-03T16:33:10Z")
[Yes, we did have some hints.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=4jICseBsvrs&NR=1) In this video with Anderson and Kelly Ripa, Kelly puts a picture of Anderson in her shirt, and Anderson’s response is, “Sweetie, that’s the last place I’d look.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/77 "2012-07-03T17:00:00Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Hopefully we’re approaching a time when the response will be “Who cares?” > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > But in order to get there, the people involved have to view it as a non-issue. Being coy about it intimates that it _is_ a big deal. > [@Taomist](#): > > Exactly. I don’t really understand this. Could you elaborate? I’m hoping the time is near that ‘coming out’, especially for someone everyone already assumes is ‘out’, is no longer newsworthy. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/78 "2012-07-03T17:36:11Z")
I had a minor reading comprehension fail when I saw a headline today – immediately thought “Wow…Alice Cooper came out?” ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/79 "2012-07-03T18:06:07Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > I had a minor reading comprehension fail when I saw a headline today – immediately thought “Wow…Alice Cooper came out?” Andy Griffith misunderstood the news and thought they were saying his name and _died_! ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/80 "2012-07-03T20:11:18Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Your move, Sam Shepard Wait, you mean [Shepard Smith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_Smith), right? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006/81 "2012-07-03T20:27:29Z")
My first reaction was, “and this is news why?” I can understand the comments about how there are still people to whom it matters to see public gay people as inspirations, but it’s just a non-event to me. But I guess part of that is that I don’t follow Anderson Cooper. He’s just some guy on TV. > [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t really understand this. Could you elaborate? I’m hoping the time is near that ‘coming out’, especially for someone everyone already assumes is ‘out’, is no longer newsworthy. The point is that if people ask or make comments about your sexuality and you play coy, that suggests that _you_ think it is a big deal. If it isn’t a big deal, then there’s no need to play games. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anderson-cooper-comes-out-finally/627006.md?page=5)