Anderson Cooper's Revelation Signals Shift in Views of Homosexuality - The New York Times
E. M. Pio Roda/CNN Anderson Cooper.
8:58 p.m. | Updated
For one of America’s best-known television news anchors to be identified as gay was, until very recently, seen as a potential career-killer.
But then, on Monday, it happened. And the TV nation seemed to shrug.
The acknowledgment by Anderson Cooper — who has been the biggest star on CNN for the better part of a decade — that “I’m gay, always have been, always will be” said as much, or more, about television audiences’ changing views of homosexuality as it did about the anchorman himself.
There were long discussions online about the whys and hows of coming out. There were conversations at other networks about what it might mean for other national news anchors who are gay but who have not spoken publicly about their sexuality.
Mostly, though, there was chatter about how unremarkable it all was. Mr. Cooper’s sexual orientation, after all, had been an open secret for a long time. Years ago, he confided in friends and colleagues that he dreaded being known as “the gay anchor.”
Since then, openly gay anchors have made inroads in other time slots and on other television networks. At a rapid pace, television news and opinion channels have reflected the growing acceptance of gays in society — and perhaps have sped up that acceptance, just as TV shows like “Ellen” and “Modern Family” have.
Said Mr. Cooper, “The tide of history only advances when people make themselves fully visible.”
Mr. Cooper did so not on television, but rather in an e-mail message to the gay blogger Andrew Sullivan, who said he had e-mailed Mr. Cooper last week to ask him about the trend of relatively casual “I’m gay” statements by public figures. Mr. Cooper responded by continuing the trend.
By the time Mr. Sullivan published it on Monday morning, with Mr. Cooper’s permission, the anchorman was out of the country on assignment for “60 Minutes” — avoiding all the subsequent interview requests and online debates. CNN said he would not be back on his prime-time program, “Anderson Cooper 360,” until Thursday.
Along with “360,” Mr. Cooper, 45, a son of the heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, hosts a daytime talk show on local stations, “Anderson,” and contributes to “60 Minutes.” The announcement on Monday makes him the most prominent openly gay journalist on American television.
“He’s a role model to millions and now will inspire countless others,” said Herndon Graddick, the president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a media advocacy group.
Some people close to Mr. Cooper had speculated over the years that he kept his sexuality a sort-of secret to avoid alienating some of his fans. (Out magazine, which has identified him as gay for years, in April called him a “silver-haired heartthrob to countless middle-American housewives.”)
Gail Shister, a columnist for TVNewser.com, said that in a private conversation with her years ago, Mr. Cooper said “he didn’t want his sexuality to be connected to his profession.”
But his thinking changed over time, just as has the country’s attitudes toward gays and lesbians.
“Our operating assumption,” a former CNN executive said, “was that anybody who cared, already knew, and that most people didn’t care.” The executive, like others interviewed for this article, asked for anonymity to preserve professional relationships.
Executives at CNN, a unit of Time Warner, declined interview requests on Monday, though they are said to be supportive of his decision.
In recent months, some television industry observers thought that Mr. Cooper might speak about his sexuality to gain attention for his one-year-old daytime television show, which had some ratings stumbles. The daytime talk format seemingly demands hosts to come forward with the personal details of their lives.
But Mr. Cooper never considered making a showy announcement on either his CNN newscast or his talk show, according to several of his colleagues.
His TV shows may have been an influence in another way, though. Mr. Cooper, according to his colleagues, was bothered by news accounts of bullying and other forms of discrimination against gays — accounts that he has covered extensively on his television shows. Those reports, one of his former producers said, along with the fact that “it just isn’t a big deal anymore,” contributed to his decision to speak publicly about his sexuality.
Because of his stature on television, “he feels that it will make a difference,” the person added. “He wanted to help.”
Mr. Cooper wrote in his e-mail on Monday that it was the mistaken impression that he was ashamed of his sexuality, combined with being “reminded recently” that there is value in standing up and being counted, that compelled him to come out. He did not elaborate on who or what reminded him, but some prominent gay journalists and commentators had made their point of view known.
The MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, for instance, said when asked about a competing television host a year ago, “I do think that if you’re gay, you have a responsibility to come out.” Some thought that comment to The Guardian newspaper was a reference to Mr. Cooper, but she later denied that it was.
In his e-mail, Mr. Cooper said he still wanted to preserve some of his privacy. His CNN colleague Don Lemon, a weekend anchor who identified himself as gay last year, said he thought Mr. Cooper would be able to.
“People will stop chasing him,” Mr. Lemon said. “They’ll stop hounding him. It’ll no longer be a big deal.”
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