Anderson Cooper Says "Gay And Proud Of It!"

Anderson Cooper, the formidable host of the CNN show Anderson Cooper 360, became a trending topic on Twitter recently after proudly admitting his homosexuality. "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," said Cooper in an email to Andrew Sullivan of The Daily Beast -- a proud gay blogger. The statement put an end to speculations about the 45-year-old host's sexuality, with some local press even writing that Cooper may even be in a relationship with Ben Maisani, an owner of several gay clubs in the US. Local New Yorkers who have seen Cooper around town had said there was no surprise to his admission, however, as he has not been masking his sexual preference whenever he goes out. His decision to come out earned praise from colleagues. As Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) tweets, "Most important thing abt?@AndersonCooper isn't that he's gay. It's that he's a first-rate journalist," referring to a New York Times piece on the?revelation on Cooper's homosexuality Cooper was out of the country on assignment for 60 Minutes when the news broke publicly possibly also to avoid interview requests and getting into online debates shortly after his statement came out on Sullivan's column. He has not commented about the matter since.