In an interview with The Daily
Beast, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper discussed his 2012 decision to
publicly come out gay.
Cooper's sexuality was an open secret;
he routinely appeared on gay glossy Out's annual list of most
powerful and influential LGBT people in America.
The 48-year-old Cooper said that he
made the decision because “visibility is important.”
“At a certain point it started to
feel like by not saying something, I was saying something,” Cooper
said. “It seemed like I was uncomfortable about something,
which wasn't the case.”
“I was leading a very open gay life
with my partner in New York; we'd go to gay bars,” he said,
referring to boyfriend Benjamin Maisani.
“I'm certainly not one to preach to
anybody about what they should do with their lives, but I do think
visibility is important. I understand that people were critical of
me for not doing it sooner, and I understand the desire to have
people who are visible in the public sphere, but I think we do what
we can,” Cooper added.