Entertainment

Several years ago, I was appearing on a TV show. I entered the makeup room where Anderson Cooper, who was also appearing on the show, had just left. The makeup woman said to me, "Anderson Cooper was just here. He's gay, you know?!" Well, I didn't know. And I had no idea how she knew, unless they discussed it over applying pancake makeup. But since then, I've followed the "Is he or isn't he?" speculation in the press, and how Anderson would dodge the question when asked outright. But no longer. Anderson has finally "come out." He wrote in an email to The Daily Beast columnist Andrew Sullivan:

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.

I understand why Anderson chose not to go public for so long. But I'm glad he finally did.

As a journalist, Anderson was required to travel to different countries, and not all cultures are as tolerant of homosexuality as America is. And we're not even that tolerant. Anderson has said that he felt he needed to be able to fit in to different societies and cultures and to be thought of as only a journalist. That makes total sense.

However, as the years wore on, it just began to seem kind of silly. Anderson became more well-known, and he began to deal with more issues revolving around gay marriage and gay bullying on his shows. It started to become odd watching him question people about the hot-button gay issues of the day without revealing his own orientation.

But, as Anderson says, it started to bother him because he felt that his silence was being equated with shame. He wrote:

It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something -- something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed, or even afraid.

He also said he wished that a person's sexuality was not an issue at all. I agree with that. But it is only by people like Anderson being out and proud that the veil of secrecy is finally lifted, that it becomes a non-issue. No longer will anyone gossip about Anderson in the makeup chair.

Do you think Anderson needed to come out?

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