Gloria Vanderbilt made an appearance on CNN this week to wish her son Anderson Cooper a Happy 40th Birthday.

Said Vanderbilt: Anderson, it's your birthday and I want to wish you a happy birthday and tell you that I love you a lot, okay. But you would really make me happy if you would do something in the next year. I'd like you to eat more, because you're very skinny and very handsome, but I would like to see you eat more, sleep more, get more rest, because I worry about that - that you don't get enough rest and enough sleep. Think about it.

(via jossip)

Posted 10:26 AM EST by Andy in Anderson Cooper, News | Permalink

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Comments

1. I thought Gloria Vanderbilt looked good.

   But, EAT? Is she kidding? She expects her chic gay son to eat? He hasn't eaten a bite since that day in '76 when he tried on her jeans!

   Posted by: sam | Jun 6, 2007 10:33:39 AM

   
   

2. Anderson Cooper and Erica Hill - the new Will and Grace : )

   Posted by: Giovanni | Jun 6, 2007 10:40:18 AM

   
   

3. I love the bashful giggles that embarrassment always brings out of him. He’s do damn dreamy.

   Posted by: Gabriel | Jun 6, 2007 10:44:42 AM

   
   

4. Andreson Cooper was INITIALLY a source of pride to the gay community when he joined CNN. But his adamant refusal to reveal that he is gay while disclosing every other facet of his life in his book, the cover article of Vanity Fair, and 101 other contexts has turned him into a complete joke and a vestige of an earlier era where public figures felt compelled to hide his sexuality.

   I believe that even public figures are entitled to keep their private life to themselves but when he wrote a 600-page book about his personal life and ranted on and on about it in every possible publication but said NOTHING about his sexual relationships he came off as a complete fool. He is now a source of shame to our community.

   Posted by: tony the tiger | Jun 6, 2007 10:56:40 AM

   
   

5. Oh get over it, Tony. This was a very cute clip of Anderson getting embarrassed by his Mom.

   Hell, my Mom STILL does that to me.

   Posted by: Allen | Jun 6, 2007 10:58:12 AM

   
   

6. P.S. That guy is only 40??? Judging from his appearance he looks at least 60. That type of premature gray hair is normally a sign of extreme stress on the body--not genetics. My friends told me they used to see him chasing after latin boys at Roxy in the eighties but I thought he was just another one of those geriatric disco daddies. Christ.

   Posted by: tony the tiger | Jun 6, 2007 11:11:37 AM

   
   

7. O' fer Crise sakes Tony! You are the same type of moron that would tell Ann Frank to go answer the door cuz the Germans are knocking. If AC came out publicly he would lose all opportunity to report on the major world stories which involve Muslim leaders. Would you prefer he give up the helm in favor of some Faux News wingnut? Rant all you want, but the Arab world aint gonna let no self avowed homo to interview their Sheiks no matter how Chic the interviewer may be. Grow some perspective.

   Posted by: Crixi Van Cheek | Jun 6, 2007 11:12:02 AM

   
   

8. ...and the embarrassment seems genuine, which is not something you could ever remotely imagine happening with most anchors. What would that even look like for, say, Brian Willams?
   

   Posted by: Gianpiero | Jun 6, 2007 11:14:17 AM

   
   

9. O' fer Crise sakes Tony! You are the same type of moron that would tell Ann Frank to go answer the door cuz the Germans are knocking. If AC came out publicly he would lose all opportunity to report on the major world stories which involve Muslim leaders. Would you prefer he give up the helm in favor of some Faux News wingnut? Rant all you want, but the Arab world aint gonna let no self avowed homo to interview their Sheiks no matter how Chic the interviewer may be. Grow some perspective.

   Posted by: Crixi Van Cheek | Jun 6, 2007 11:14:34 AM

   
   

10. Gloria Vanderbilt is a legend and Anderson acts like she s bothersome.What Anderson coop needs to do is come out of the closet and stop acting like his gayness was something to be ashamed of,OK.

    Posted by: Toby | Jun 6, 2007 11:23:23 AM

    
    

11. In response to the guys who are attacking me for criticizing Anderson Cooper for leading a double life and even calling me a "moron":

    I am an attorney at a major NYC law firm and was one of the first attorneys to come out of the closet at the law firm a decade ago and have since been promoted to partner. If I had remained in the closet for fear of losing clients or the prospect of advancement (which is Crixi Van Cheek's argument for why Anderson should be entitled to remain in the closet) then the next generation of gay and lesbian attorneys at my law firm would not have a role model to show them that it is fine for them to be openly gay and it won't affect their prospects. Without an openly gay role model at the law firm they might have been very unhappy here.

    The only "morons" are the people who think you can't succeed in the news media while being openly gay. Anderson DOES set a horrible example for the next generation of gay men and women.

    Posted by: tony the tiger | Jun 6, 2007 11:27:34 AM

    
    

12. not being able to interview some rather nefarious types is a small price to pay for being courageous enough to live your life fully and truthfully.

    Posted by: sean | Jun 6, 2007 11:33:00 AM

    
    

13. Tony, I 100% agree with you.

    To all of you who say that if Anderson came out his career would be over - your fear and shamed-based statements are only perpetuating the the myth that gays cannot be respected celebrities.

    As a already respected anchorman, it is Anderson's responsibility to COME OUT so that America can see that not all gay men wear women's clothes, have dyed hair and speak with a lisp.

    If Anderson had truly chosen to keep his private life private (ie not had his book published), I would respect his decision keep his sexuality to himself. But to disclose every last detail about yourself except that you're a minority in a world that deeply discriminates against your kind - that's just too big a bombshell to overlook when writing one's memoirs.

    
    

    Posted by: A | Jun 6, 2007 11:33:57 AM

    
    

14. Tony, are you one of those guys where someone has to explain a joke to you to understand it? ;)

    I can see your POV 110%, however, this is just a clip from CNN. It's funny, it's cute ... let's just leave it at that.

    Posted by: Allen | Jun 6, 2007 11:39:13 AM

    
    

15. Sorry Allen but for me (and for all of my friends and I suspect a lot of other gay men and women) even the thought of Anderson Cooper makes me cringe because of his choice to stay so deep in the close.

    Beyond which I think he does a lousy job as a news correspondent. His reporting is actually very shallow and when he interviews people he always manages to turn the conversation into a discussion of his own life experience.

    Posted by: tony the tiger | Jun 6, 2007 11:45:57 AM

    
    

16. Bravo to you, Tony, for your balls in daring tell the truth about Anderson Coward [whose balls, at 40, apparently have yet to descend] and risk being drowned by the hissy fits of the shallow, dizzy queens who swoon over him. Crixi's recycled RETARDED analysis takes the birthday cake! I had no idea there was a line of "Muslim leaders" and "their Sheiks" wrapping around the block CNN headquarters begging to be on "360" and that AC was the only celebrity "journalist" available to interview them. The only Sheiks he regularly sees are condoms.

    And bravo, too, for coming out at your law firm [still a very "be like us to succeed" profession]! The only thing I disagree with is his being "a horrible example for the next generation of gay men and women," because he's a horrible example for THIS one, too. Hence a community dominated by "Good Fag" tweetie birds like those flaming you here.

    Posted by: Leland | Jun 6, 2007 11:47:40 AM

    
    

17. What kind of a news journalist is wished "Happy Birthday" by his Mother on the air? It's a shame that television journalism has become nothing but entertainment.

    Posted by: Tom | Jun 6, 2007 11:49:33 AM

    
    

18. To TTT: "I am an attorney at a major NYC law firm blah, blah blah.." THAT certainly explains your attitude. But what works for your and yours doesn't necessarily work for everyone. I am tickled pink when someone famous decides to come out...I think it's good for everyone. But to apply pressure to someone who isn't ready to come out--for whatever reason--is really arrogant. I am sick of all the attempts at "outing" public figures by applying a public coming out standard for such a private thing.. Plenty of role models exist for young gays...when I came out in the 70's, there were none. Progress has been made. So stop already. AC will decide when and if...not the outing cognocenti of the gay community.

    Who is Anderson Cooper's father. Who put the "Coop" in Vanderbilt? He sure has good jeans...Gloria looked great. She's gotta be about 1000 years old.

    Posted by: Howard | Jun 6, 2007 11:54:36 AM

    
    

19. Anderson's father was writer Wyatt Emory Cooper.

    ...and as for "his coming out"- some gays need to get a life and/or role models rather than basing their self-worth on whether or not someone "comes out".

    Talk about arrested development!

    Posted by: Tom | Jun 6, 2007 12:04:54 PM

    
    

20. Anderson forfeited what little right he had to privacy when he had the gall to ask a performer he was interviewing whether he was gay. You don't get to ask that question when you are a fucking closetcase yourself.

    I like Anderson. He's generally sweet. But if he doesn't come out at the time and place of his own choosing VERY soon, he's gonna be outed in the tabloids the first second he lets his guard down in public and they can get a suggestive photo. I'm sure Rupert Murdoch would love to have the Post do the honors.

    Posted by: 24play | Jun 6, 2007 12:14:45 PM

    
    

21. Tony the Tiger has posted on this board under many different user names, such as Action Jackson and Tony May, but in the end every one of his posts either flames and hijacks the comments section or personally attacks other posts. DO NOT ENGAGE, REPEAT: DO NOT ENGAGE.

    Posted by: anon | Jun 6, 2007 12:17:38 PM

    
    

22. All together now, "Anderson, eat more meat!"

    Posted by: davefromtampa | Jun 6, 2007 12:24:58 PM

    
    

23. anderson has over-inflated the issue of his sexuality by not simply stating the fact earlier... now he's faced with a certainly stressful public "coming-out" and has indeed helped to perpetrate the view that to be gay is shameful.

    the notion that he might not get every middle-eastern interview because he's a gay man is a very thinly veiled excuse.
    he seems like a likeable character thru his newscasts, and i fear he's now caught in his own web of trying to please everybody, including the corporate rightwing and his ancient mummy.
    

    Posted by: A.J. | Jun 6, 2007 12:27:31 PM

    
    

24. Anderson doesn't need to come out. Everyone knows it already. Besides hasn't he already made several slips of the tongue like saying "we" when talking about gay stories and the girlish giggling (while cute)which turns many a radar on? Randi Rhodes of Air America and everyone else talks about him being gay constantly, which he never denies. He's passively-aggressively out.

    Posted by: woodroad34 | Jun 6, 2007 12:29:18 PM

    
    

25. Oh yes, yes, lets all worship another arrogant lawyer! Woo Hoo! Oh yes Tony, you are the shining example to all!!! Your way is the ONLY way. Wow, funny how you self rightous progressive types absolutely demand others to conform to your value system. You are no better than a Rove or a Cheney in your demand for loyalty to your value system.

    And Leland, Dahlink I adore you. Really. I don't always agree with you, but you are one of the brightest bulbs in the pack. But for the record, Mr. Cooper does in fact do a hell of a lot more good in Muslim ruled countries than you realize. While you may not think of him as a journalist, his actions prove that he is. His work early in his career in the Sudan was instrumental in bringing attention and aid to that region. Recently, his visit to Afghanistan involved not only covering the story as it aired but a lot of behind the scene work for Americans and American troops. You would be astounded at the efforts the man makes behind the scenes to help people. He is one of the few people who knows how to use his celebrity wisely. And, the greater point is that it is his choice and right to conduct his life any way he sees fit. The notion that every gay person in the world must conform to your standard of 'outness' as an example to others is ludicrous. While you will accuse me of having 'hissy' fits and 'flaming' both you and Tony are flailing about in a rage because a TV Anchor doesn't follow your dictate for sexual identity. Leland, your too smart for this kind of intolerence.

    Posted by: Crixi Van Cheek | Jun 6, 2007 12:29:26 PM

    
    

26. I firmly believe that everyone should come out of the closet. I also know from experience that:
    1) People need to come out when they are ready
    2) People have reasons for staying in that are not for us to discern (and it isn't always fear based). Some people just have things that they prefer to keep to themselves for their own reasons.
    Regardless, Cooper will come out when he feels that he is ready. Forcing him to come out or judging him because he is closeted isn't the answer. It is his life and his decision.
    Personally, I would have been (and was)resentful of anyone who tried to force me to come out before I was ready. Of course, I came out during a whole different era, but that doesn't negate the facts that I came out when it was my time.
    Recently, David Hyde-Pierce came out. We all knew he was gay and we have all been waiting for it. He just needed to do it in his own time.

    Posted by: PJ | Jun 6, 2007 12:33:15 PM

    
    

27. Anderson is in the closet because of the Muslims. OK, now I understand. He's a gay freedom fighter, going undercover to report on the issues that matter. Whatever.

    PS I keep visualizing him sucking a huge cock. I just do. Sorry.

    Posted by: Dan | Jun 6, 2007 12:39:47 PM

    
    

28. Dan! Eureka! Your right...If Anderson comes out the Terrorists win! Logic is fun.

    Posted by: Crixi Van Cheek | Jun 6, 2007 12:45:47 PM

    
    

29. Thank you for your very kind words, Crixi, despite the flames I threw your way [though you are still being a bit harsh on Tony].

    The bottom line is that the topic remains riddled with shallow thinking. 1. The persistence of the “everybody already knows” delusion is frightening. Do you people drive cars; have access to helpless children or animals; own a gun? If so, please at least give us your Zip Code so that we might avoid it. 2. Short of kidnapping him on air, sticking a gun toward Little Anderson, and promising to turn a cock into a capon if he doesn't look "straight" into the camera and say, "Yes, I'm gay," none of us are in a position to "force him to come out." 3. While a devout atheist, I do tend to believe that one's "good works" in one area do not atone for one's continuing “sin” in another, and, in this case, based on numbers alone, I believe there’s far more good he could do for closeted gay youth [who number in the millions] than for a few hundred or thousand troops in the Mideast. 4. Further in that regard, if there were “plenty” of positive gay role models then it follows that, among many other things, gay 15-year olds would not be lying down on railroad tracks to commit suicide by train, and in his beloved Mideast fewer gays might be murdered. 5. Of course, it’s his “right” not to come out. It is no less our right to criticize him for it, and the higher public profile a person has and the more money they have made off selling other intimate details about their “private lives,” as he most certainly has, the higher the level of criticism that is justified. 5. Nothing asserted, nothing suggested, nothing imagined can explain why a rich, forty-year old, mostly soft core news star doesn’t come out other than moral cowardice. And those of us who understand that have as much right to loathe him in the holy war that is being waged against us as we would someone armed but hiding in a hole while the rest of us are being shot out in a real war.
    

    Posted by: Leland | Jun 6, 2007 1:48:38 PM

    
    

30. i want to eat him

    Posted by: b mac | Jun 6, 2007 1:56:29 PM

    
    

31. YOU GUYS ARE TERRIFIC!!! Your posts have given me the encouragement I need to finally come out of the closet. I will announce that I am gay tonight on CNN. Don't forget to watch!!

    ANDERSON COOPER

    Posted by: Anderson Cooper | Jun 6, 2007 1:59:13 PM

    
    

32. Yay! The REAL Leland came out to play!

    Posted by: Crixi Van Cheek | Jun 6, 2007 2:00:42 PM

    
    

33. Premature gray is the sign of stress? Tony, step away from the Frosted Flakes and buy a book on genetics.

    Posted by: mark m | Jun 6, 2007 3:06:21 PM

    
    

34. You guys are all such spiteful queens.

    I've rethought my decision to come out of the closet tonight on T.V.

    I don't want any part of your bitter lives.

    I am going back in the closet.

    ANDERSON.

    Posted by: Anderson Cooper | Jun 6, 2007 3:12:28 PM

    
    

35. Thank you Tony and Leland for your refreshing comments regarding outing/the closet. It never ceases to amaze me how vehemently and passionately(self loathingly?)other gay men will argue to maintain their ability to deceive,mislead and LIE to themselves,to their loved ones and to the world.

    Posted by: ShawnSF | Jun 6, 2007 6:06:15 PM

    
    

36. I think what so many gay men find so irritating about Anderson Cooper is that he really is much more a t.v. personality than a serious journalist. Just watch his nightly newscast and he is pretty passively covering the news...and every interview turns into all about him...and like someone mentioned earlier all those books and news articles about himself. But there is no substance to it. His ratings are awful and it is partly for this reason. People followed Greta Van Susteren (sp?) to Fox because she is a real investigative reporter and journalist not Anderson. He is all fluff.

    Posted by: christian | Jun 6, 2007 6:51:48 PM

    
    

37. I don't see where the comment about him deceiving his himself, his loved ones, etc. is coming from. He's seen in gay bars, he introduces people (including the editor of Out Magazine according to the editor who was trying to pick him up at the time) to his boyfriends, he's attended events like gay youth conferences, he doesn't use beards, and he's never denied being gay or complained about being asked about it. All he did was say "I'm not going to talk about it" when someone asked about his sexuality (which everybody in the world interprets correctly as "I'm gay but I don't want to turn this into an Ellen/Rosie/Lance Bass/etc thing". Gays know he is gay. If they want to see that a guy can stand among the bombs in Iraqi cities or child prostitutes in Thailand delivering news on ugly issues, have a busy schedule of dates with other guys, act naturally, and live as it suits him, then there he is. Bowing to peer pressure to make some sort of "confessions" to fit other people's demands and fit their schedule wouldn't be inspiring. Cowardice is not being brave enough to do what you want to or think you should. I'd say he seems happy with things the way they are without any big pronouncements.

    Who knows his reasons? Probably lots. One of the guys who interviewed him for a men's magazine said he didn't want his sex life to be in the scandal papers like his mother's was. He's not stupid, and he's been around celebrity and the press his whole life. Saying "I'm gay" wouldn't be the end of it with a popular good looking celebrity. People would want to know who he's seeing and all that, which would be opening up a door a news anchor doesn't unless he/she is in a stable marriage. He's talked about some personal stuff like family deaths, but those had already been written about by his mother, there were photographers at the funerals and they aren't the sort of thing that are inappropriate for news anchors to discuss. I'm not saying his orientation is inappropriate for serious news, but his relationship history probably is if you believe a fraction of what you see on the web.

    Maybe it's partly a job thing too. Anderson's first love seems to be combat reporting. He visits a lot of different cultures in bad situations and lives and works among soldiers quite a lot. How much harder would that be if did an "Guess what, I'm queer and luvin' it!!" cover for People magazine? I don't know. It was exposed that Anderson was keeping in the closet about having worked for the CIA too, and that was because he was worried about it causing him problems in war reporting.

    Eh, anyway, people aren't going to agree on this one.

    Posted by: Greg | Jun 6, 2007 8:29:52 PM

    
    

38. Crixi, do you really believe what you are writing or are you just making it up as you go along?

    Posted by: jmg | Jun 6, 2007 8:32:19 PM

    
    

39. Come on Greg! This guy is trying to build a cult of personality around himself with his book about his life and his articles in Detail Magazine (of all places!!!) and elsewhere about his life experiences and then he totally leaves out his personal life.

    It really is hypocritical. And i am glad the public isn't buying it. His ratings are awful and his reporting is awful. I can't understand why CNN is so wrapped up with this guy. He hasn't delivered the ratings and they throw more money at him anyway.

    Posted by: maxwell | Jun 6, 2007 8:44:54 PM

    
    

40. Doesn't a 40 year old man getting a birthday greeting from his mom and not his boyfriend (or girlfriend) just prove out point? This guy won't let the public in on his sex life so they resort to getting a birthday greeting from his mom instead.

    Who is he? Norman Bates?!?!?!

    Posted by: rufus | Jun 6, 2007 8:46:47 PM

    
    

41. His ratings seem OK to me. It's not just a matter of the numbers, it's about who they are. He brings in the younger set and swoony women of all ages (who know he's gay and are still goofy about him). That makes advertisers happy.

    Hill can gave him about three videos from different people. She can give him another one from a boyfriend or the guy he took home last night at the office party. Do you see straight anchors showing off their temporary flings? It's a profession that calls for a conservative, family style sort of appearance.

    Posted by: Greg | Jun 6, 2007 9:44:44 PM

    
    

42. Hey Greg, I read Crains and the WSJ and I read over and over that Anderson's ratings suck almost as hard as he does.

    What makes you think he is attracting the "younger set". The "younger set" is watching comedy central. Not this loser.

    Posted by: peter | Jun 6, 2007 10:13:41 PM

    
    

43. Actually Anderson Cooper's show is not doing ok in the rating. He lost about 30-60% of his viewer by the second hour most of the time. Here is chart at this link comparing his rating now and a year ago when he was doing better.

    http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/original/may07vs06.pdf

    Here is a person CNN spend millions and millions of dollar promoting as the new face of CNN and yet, Lou Dobbs who CNN spend little money promoting is getting bigger rating then 360. In other words, CNN wasted their money.

    And here is something most people don't know, Alan Chambers, the "former homosexual" who runs Exodus International, called Anderson fair in handing the issue Gay can be cure. Some might says Anderson is just being objective but Chambers point out even Fox News and I quote "has 'never responded' and shows no interest" in his work. This is Fox News we are talking and they won't let him on their channel but Anderson don't have any problem it. I am not making this up, you can read it at this link under gay rights

    http://www.aim.org/special_report/5366_0_8_0_C/

    Warning this is conservative site.

    
    

    Posted by: John | Jun 6, 2007 11:18:44 PM

    
    

44. This is a contentious issue apparently...

    There are several anchors on Fox that people think are gay, like Shepherd Smith, but no calls on them to do anything. It's only ever Coop. Does anyone have a list of the usual suspects in big news?

    Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Jun 6, 2007 11:47:37 PM

    
    

45. There was a guy on manhunt a few years back whose profile name was "doshombre" who had a picture of him and anderson c. getting nasty on his private pix. I wish he had made those public. He unlocked them for me once.

    Aaaah the memories.

    Posted by: mackenzie | Jun 7, 2007 12:01:42 AM

    
    

46. I'd say that's a fairly reasonable take on the matter Greg.

    Posted by: Giovanni | Jun 7, 2007 12:40:58 AM

    
    

47. Uh...eat...let your hair grow; take three telephone pole out of your ass; wipe that self-aggrandizing smirk of entitlement off your inbred, cross-eyed "Beavis" face. Hmmm...like mother like son. "Marketing experiment" indeed.

    And Shepard Smith looks like Amanda Bearse in drag. Somebody tell this guy to take off all that fucking makeup. Stupid fag.

    Posted by: Ben | Jun 7, 2007 7:09:40 AM

    
    

48. JMG, the answer is yes to both.

    Posted by: Crixi Van Cheek | Jun 7, 2007 10:00:46 AM

    
    

49. given all the crap gloria's been through in her life, i believe she's entitled to be whomever or whatever she wants.... and let anderson be anderson! like his mother, it's his life and he doesn't owe the public anything - to quote his great-great grandfather, william h. vanderbilt - " the public be damned " or as it is sometimes quoted "my public be damned." both apply here.
    

    Posted by: djwschmidt | Jun 10, 2007 1:55:48 PM

    
    

50. Anderson's giggle is too adorable.... I love Anderson's sound.. Ha ha ha =) Handsome and Talented=Adorable=Gorgeous=Anderson Cooper.

    Posted by: Jung-Hae Kim | Jun 15, 2007 10:01:20 AM

    
    

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