After what has been the subject of much speculation, Apple CEO Tim Cook anounced that he is gay. In an opinion editorial in Bloomberg Businessweek, Cook says “I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.”
Cook was reportedly hand selected by Steve Jobs to succeed the high-tech icon to run one of the world’s most profitable and venerable companies. Cook added “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.” While Cook has never discussed his sexuality publicly, those in the LGBT elite circles of business, entertainment and politics were well aware of Cook’s sexual orientation.
This week Cook publicly advocated for the rights of LGBT people in his home state of Alabama and has previously discussed the discrimination he experienced in his life. “It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry,” Cook told Bloomberg Businessweek.
Cook has the distinction of becoming the first out CEO of the Fortune 500, the largest companies in America. The 53-year-old CEO joked that being gay has “given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.” Cook explained why he decided to come out, “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.”
LGBT Weekly applaudes Cook’s courage and hopes it inspires others in uber-positions of power in our country to beome role models for LGBT youth in the world.
