NEW YORK, July 3: CNN’s Anderson Cooper said in a public statement on Monday that he is gay, adding that while privacy is important for journalists, he did not want to give the impression he was hiding something and wanted to stand up against bullying. “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,” the 45-year-old anchor of CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” told The Daily Beast. (agencies)