Anderson: ‘I Am the Same Person’

Anderson Cooper said on the season premiere of his talk show on Monday that he came out publicly this summer after he realized that his silence could be misconstrued as being ashamed of being gay. “I told my friends, I told my family, I’ve always been out with coworkers and stuff,” he said. “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.” Cooper said he had been “torn for a long time,” but ultimately decided “visibility is important.” “I am the same person I always was, I do the job the same way,” Cooper told guest Kristin Chenoweth.