The 45-year-old CNN anchor revealed he is gay in an email that a colleague published on The Daily Beast Monday morning. The site boasts that it offers "a smart, speedy take on the news from around the world, combined with the depth and investigative power of Newsweek magazine."

The dashing journalist was responding to a request by Andrew Sullivan for his thoughts on an emerging trend: gay people in public life who come out in a much more restrained and matter-of-fact way than in the past.

Cooper, who anchors CNN's primetime news show Anderson Cooper 360° and also hosts a daytime talk show, gave Sullivan permission to reprint his response.

In the email, Cooper says he'd begun to consider "whether the unintended outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional principle.

"It's become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something - something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true."

Cooper added that "there continue to be far too many incidences of bullying of young people, as well as discrimination and violence against people of all ages, based on their sexual orientation, and I believe there is value in making clear where I stand.

"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."

Cooper, whose mother is the famous fashion designer Glora Vanderbilt, told Sullivan he's always been "open and honest about this part of my life with my friends, my family, and my colleagues.

"In a perfect world, I don't think it's anyone else's business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted. I'm not an activist, but I am a human being and I don't give that up by being a journalist."