Anderson Cooper spoke about his decision to come out for the first time on the inaugural episode of his new-look daytime talk show Anderson Live. Prompted by his guest co-host Kristin Chenoweth, the 45-year-old television journalism icon opened up on his decision to publicly come out as a gay man in July.
"I've always been out to my coworkers and stuff," Cooper told Chenoweth. "It's just not something I talked about publicly because as a reporter I didn't think it was appropriate. It didn't seem part of my job."
As for what eventually inspired him to officially come out, Cooper reflected on the importance of "visibility," saying he thought "the tide of history only moves forward when everyone is fully visible."
He added: "I didn't want to send a message that there was anything I was ashamed about or unhappy about or not comfortable with."
