Wisely saving this sort of bombshell news for a lazy holiday week where it can slip away quietly and do the least structural damage to our world, Anderson Cooper has officially come out as a gay man to everyone who hadn't already assumed that, once more getting the breaking scoop right from the source. Cooper made the quasi-revelation to his friend, The Daily Beast's Andrew Sullivan, after the latter emailed asking Cooper his opinion about Entertainment Weekly's recent article on the new era of celebrities coming out with far less fanfare than they have in the past—an email that, just like its attachment and the many other "gay celebrity" articles that have cast an expectant eye Cooper's way, may as well have been titled, "Well…?"
Whatever Sullivan's ultimate intent, it worked: Cooper replied with a long, thoughtful letter that culminates in the statement, "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." He also explains that he's kept his personal life to himself until now—doing so "even when I’ve been directly asked 'the gay question,' which happens occasionally," he acknowledges dryly—in order to maintain his "reporter's shield of privacy," only recently coming to the conclusion that visibility is far more important. Sadly, he doesn't seem to care what this announcement will do to the many Anderson-loving moms who simply thought their blue-eyed, silver-haired, tight T-shirt-favoring news boyfriend simply hadn't met the right woman yet.