Tim Cook, Apple CEO, Comes Out As Gay

Speculation has always labelled the CEO of Apple as gay, but he officially came out in a heartfelt essay published in Bloomberg Businessweek.

Tim Cook has been a longtime supporter of LGBT rights, participating in San Francisco Pride, calling a presidential ban on LGBT discrimination a “matter of basic human dignity,” and pressuring politicians to move faster on marriage equality. Though he has never denied being a homosexual, Cook has never acknowledged his sexuality publicly.

Today, Cook has had an essay published in which he comes out of the closet and encourages others to do so. “I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me,” he wrote.

He continued to write upon how his sexuality helped shape his understanding of prejudice. “Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day.” This gave him confidence and “the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple,” Cook said.

He wrote about the inspiration behind publicly coming out saying, “I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.”

Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin commented on the article saying it “will save countless lives.”