Anderson Cooper's Gay Timeline

COOP GIVES THE GAYFACE Anderson

Though he's never publicly copped to his orientation, references to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper's homosexuality have reached a level of saturation that would make even Clay Aiken squeal: "Come out, already!"

Last Thursday, a character named Kenneth on 30 Rock was being used as bait for Will Arnett's gay, West Coast TV exec character. When Kenneth's boss, Jack (Alec Baldwin), asks about their pseudo date, Kenneth responds, "We mostly talked about Anderson Cooper." On NBC! The channel your parents watch!

The gay bait name-check comes on the heels of the forthcoming May issue of Out magazine, where Village Voice gossip columnist Michael Musto includes Anderson in his cover story, "The Glass Closet: why the stars won't come out and play." Musto has been dining out on AC's homosexuality since November 11, 2003, when he picked up a quote from Metrosource, a gay magazine, in which Anderson was referred to as an "openly gay news anchor" in the mag's list of 50 people they love. The Metrosource article was the first press mention of AC's possible gayness, and the rumors have only taken off since then.