BIG APPLE

Tim Cook: ‘I’m Proud to Be Gay’

“I have never denied my sexuality.”

In an essay in Businessweek, Apple’s CEO has acknowledged for the first time publicly that he is gay. “While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now,” Tim Cook writes. “So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.” He writes that being gay helps him understand what it means to be a minority and made him tougher. Cook also wrote of the need to have workplace-equality bills for gays, as well as other protections. “There are laws on the books in a majority of states that allow employers to fire people based solely on their sexual orientation,” he says. “There are many places where landlords can evict tenants for being gay, or where we can be barred from visiting sick partners and sharing in their legacies. Countless people, particularly kids, face fear and abuse every day because of their sexual orientation.”