Apple CEO Tim Cook out as gay: I'm proud

In 2014, Tim Cook beme the first CEO of a major pany to e out as gay. He says he’s happy about that distctn — and his cisn. * tim cook gay marriage *

One more years of stayg relatively silent, Apple CEO Tim Cook me out as gay on Thursday for the first time publicly, sayg that "while I have never nied my sexualy, I haven't publicly acknowledged eher, until now. "'"So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I nsir beg gay among the greatt gifts God has given me, " Cook said Bsweek, beg the first Fortune 500 chief executive to e out, who took over the role 2011 shortly before the ath of Apple founr Steve Jobs, wr that he's been open about his sexualy wh many people his life, cludg "plenty" of his Apple lleagu, and that hasn't changed the way he's been treated. He ntu the post:"Beg gay has given me a eper unrstandg of what means to be the mory and provid a wdow to the challeng that people other mory groups al wh every day.

"RELATED: Apple CEO tells climate change niers to sell their Apple sharThe Natnal Gay & Lbian Chamber of Commerce praised Cook for g out, wrg a statement that "The bs voice of the LGBT muny, mends Tim Cook for his movg and heartfelt g out say...

Wyomg on Tuday beme the 32nd state to legalize gay marriage, jog several other nservative areas allowg same-sex lossal shift go for public opn, too.

WATCH TIM COOK EXPLA WHY HE CAME OUT AS GAY

Like Apple CEO Tim Cook, the top executiv are openly gay the workplace. * tim cook gay marriage *

A recent poll shows half of the Amerin public believ gay marriage is a nstutnal right, wh 50% sayg that same-sex marriage is protected by the U.

The numbers support of marriage equaly this year far surpass those om a siar survey 2004, when jt 32% of Amerins said they favored gay as a pany has been a strong supporter of marriage equaly.

TIM COOK: BEG GAY IS GOD’S GREATT GIFT TO ME

* tim cook gay marriage *

"In December 2013, a speech Cook gave on gay rights and racism -- cludg personal discrimatn -- led some media outlets, cludg Gawker's tech se Valleywag, to ponr if that was the first time the Apple CEO acknowledged his sexual orientatn publicly.

TIM COOK ON SUPREME COURT’S GAY MARRIAGE LG: A VICTORY FOR EQUALY

Apple's Tim Cook has bee the first openly gay chief executive of a pany the Fortune 500 list of the biggt US pani. Why aren't there more? * tim cook gay marriage *

This summer, a CNBC segment of "Squawk on the Street" turned heads when one host accintally "outed" Cook, sayg “I thk Tim Cook is fairly open about the fact that he’s gay at the head of Apple isn’t he? “If hearg that the CEO of Apple is gay n help someone stgglg to e to terms wh who he or she is, or brg fort to anyone who feels alone, or spire people to sist on their equaly, then ’s worth the tra-off wh my own privacy.

“It’s someone that is maybe an LGBT muny that is fired bee of that…It beme clear to me that there were lots of kids out there not beg treated well, cludg their own fai, and that kids need someone to say, ‘Oh they did okay life, and they’re gay so mt not be a life sentence some kd of way. John Becker, 30, of Silver Sprg, Md., wav a rabow flag support of gay marriage outsi of the Supreme Court Washgton, Thursday June 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Mart)Photograph by Jacquelyn Mart – APThe Supreme Court led 5-4 favor of legalizg gay marriage for all 50 stat, the District of Columbia today, and U.

TIM COOK ISN'T THE ONLY OPENLY GAY CEO

Apple CEO Tim Cook shared his thoughts on the Supreme Court's cisn to legalize gay marriage natnwi on Twter followg the lg on Friday. * tim cook gay marriage *

4 ln LGBT bs owners are the untry – image how many more will e out now that the ti of equaly has risen so hight, ” a Natnal Gay and Lbian Chamber of Commerce spokperson told Fortune a statement. When CNNMoney asked Gawker to nfirm that Denton was gay, Gawker edor--chief Max Read replied, "If Nick's not gay, his hband will be very surprised to fd out. He mak clear on his LkedIn profile that he supports LGBT iativ, and his new employer Nike has also been vol about supportg gay marriage.

TIM COOK AND THE END OF GAY RIGHTS AS A WEDGE ISSUE

Apple CEO Tim Cook, who beme the most high-profile bs lear the world to e out as gay, shared his joy today at a U.S. Supreme Court lg. * tim cook gay marriage *

Photograph by Xhua News Agency via RxOn Thursday morng, the head of one of the world’s most admired pani, Tim Cook, of Apple, announced that he is gay.

As he put a piece for Bloomberg BsWeek, “While I have never nied my sexualy, I haven’t publicly acknowledged eher, until now, ” addg potedly and poignantly, “So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I nsir beg gay among the greatt gifts God has given me. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court cled to review appellate urt lgs that overturned gay-marriage bans, a move that brought marriage equaly to more than a dozen new stat.

But, historilly, an tense news foc on gay rights and same-sex marriage has ually been followed by some sort of backlash, often felt durg natnal electns.

WHY IS APPLE'S TIM COOK THE ONLY OPENLY GAY CEO OF A MAJOR US FIRM?

Apple CEO Tim Cook tells CNN’s Christiane Amanpour why he was spired to e out as gay after seeg people bullied onle for their sexual orientatn. * tim cook gay marriage *

Bh won reëlectn at least part bee his polil operativ drew nservative voters to the polls swg stat by placg gay marriage on the ballot the form of state nstutnal amendments.

Further back, Print Bill Clton, durg his 1996 reëlectn mpaign, was so worried about beg portrayed as favorg marriage rights for gays that he signed the Republin-sponsored Defense of Marriage Act. ) That same year, his opponent, Senator Bob Dole, returned a ntributn om a gay Republin group bee he did not want to be seen as lked to s agenda.

And, 2008, then Senator Barack Obama walked back his prev support for marriage equaly orr to n for Print as a ndidate opposed to gay marriage.

HOW TIM COOK REACTED TO THE LEGALIZATN OF GAY MARRIAGE

"I’m proud to be gay, and I nsir beg gay among the greatt gifts God has given me," Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote a Bloomberg Bsweek piece. * tim cook gay marriage *

When I asked Steve Elmendorf, a longtime Democratic strategist and former senr ngrsnal ai, where the issue of gay marriage was playg this year’s midterm electns, he replied, “Frankly, nowhere. ” Fred Saz, the munitns director for the Human Rights Campaign, the untry’s largt gay-rights anizatn, answered the same qutn by sayg, “Exactly the way we want . Image source, Getty ImagIt's pretty startlg that among the chief executiv of the 500 biggt US pani only one, Tim Cook of Apple, is openly claratn this week that he is "proud to be gay" was hailed as an important moment for the gay muny.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK SAID HE CID TO E OUT AS GAY AFTER READG LETTERS OM KIDS STGGLG WH THEIR INTY

There was a fascatg impact when Apple CEO Tim Cook fend gay rights * tim cook gay marriage *

Campaigners say they know of boss of other big firms who are gay, but are reluctant to be open about hope Mr Cook's public acknowledgement will spur them to e what is holdg them back? Changg tim"When I was at universy, people who did gay thgs, homosexual acts, ually went to prison and stayed there a long time, " Lord Browne said an terview wh the BBC earlier this rigned as chief executive of BP 2007 after emerged that statements he had ma legal documents about a four-year relatnship he'd had wh a man had been "untthful" Lord Browne, many chief executiv would have grown up tim that were much ls tolerant of gay people.

"Societal views have changed nsirably, but that has only really been the past 10 years, " says Si Sandhu, founr of profsnal work ptn, Former BP chief executive Lord Browne says Mr Cook is "an important role mol"Gay people now their 50s and 60s uld have been keepg their sexualy a secret om lleagu for years, perhaps s. "Some of our bt lears are known for their honty and thenticy, to kd of then turn around and go, 'Actually, there's a big thg that I haven't que mentned', is que difficult, " says Ruth Hunt, chief executive of Stonewall, the lbian, gay and bisexual equaly anisatn.

"Once you e out, you are expected to sudnly be an expert on all thgs gay, but of urse you are an expert on your job - not all thgs gay, " says Ms source, Getty ImagCommercial ncernsChief executiv uld have another ncern. The Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn lists 78 untri wh crimal laws agast sexual activy by the groups of those untri are Ai, Asia and the Middle regns are growg fast and are where amb pani would be eager to Sandhu of Outstandg thks havg a gay chief executive "uld impact sal" those untri.

COOK: BEG GAY ‘IS GOD’S GREATT GIFT TO ME’

The powerful and once private CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, went public and polil wh his homosexualy Thursday llg a "gift om God" while throwg his support behd gay marriage. In a ftly polil reply, however, Sen. Ted Cz, R-Texas, said his homosexualy is his "personal cisn." * tim cook gay marriage *

But that remas to be seen, as there is no data to support the Tim Cook's announcement, we might fd out over the next few years whether ctomers might nsir the sexualy of a chief executive when choosg a mobile prospectsSo what about gay people tryg to work their way through the ranks the current era? Over three-quarters of Ameri's 500 biggt pani have non-discrimatn polici that bar firg someone bee they are gay or lbian, says Jt Nelson, -founr and print of the US Natnal Gay and Lbian Chamber of he says those polici n only go so far.

"There are still tim that, even when you have a policy, the guy the cubicle next to you might have a personal belief that is not fully clive, " he source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Christopher Bailey is the only openly gay chief executive of a FTSE 100 firmSome dtri are workg harr than others to overe such UK fashn dtry n boast the only openly gay chief executive among FTSE 100 pani, after Christopher Bailey beme chief executive of Burberry earlier this Sandhu says diversy is " the DNA" of the fashn dtry is not necsarily leadg the way enuragg gay staff. "It's que shockg to learn that even now graduat who are openly gay at universy are gog back to the closet bee the bs world is a ltle behd, " says Mr on this story. — Tim Cook (@tim_ok) June 26, 2015Jt mut after he tweeted, both tweets racked up thoands of favor and retweets publicly me out as gay an say for Bloomberg Bsweek this past October.

Supreme Court lg that gay upl have the nstutnal right to marry by vokg some famo words om the late Steve, who publicly me out last October as gay an say wrten for Bloomberg Bsweek, said "beg gay has given me a eper unrstandg of what means to be the mory and provid a wdow to the challeng that people other mory groups al wh every day. ""I'm proud to be gay, and I nsir beg gay among the greatt gifts God has given me, " he a pany that burst onto the personal putg market the Steve Jobs era wh the slogan "thk different, " Apple employe have also heard another ll to actn om Cook: "Incln spir novatn. Apple CEO Tim Cook says he was motivated to publicly e out as gay after receivg letters om children stgglg wh their sexual an terview wh People en Español, Cook discsed his public g out and his msage to children uncerta about revealg their sexual, now 58, me out 2014, beg the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 's ments e amid a tough spell for the Apple CEO, who has faced cricism for his cisn earlier this month to remove om the App Store an app that allowed Hong Kong protters to track police Bs Insir's homepage for more stori.

APPLE’S TIM COOK SAYS THAT HE IS ‘PROUD TO BE GAY’

Tim Cook says he was motivated to e out as gay after receivg letters om children stgglg wh their sexual ually private Apple CEO publicly me out 2014, revealg his sexual orientatn an open letter published Bloomberg Bsweek. This ma him the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 an terview wh People en Español published Thursday, the 58-year-old spoke about a range of topics related to sexual orientatn and young people.

"Though Cook said he "didn't worry" about how Apple staff would react to his g out, he did acknowledge worryg about the reactn "outsi of Apple, " and noted that "the world is still not iendly to gay or trans people many untri but also wh our untry. Apple CEO Tim Cook tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour why he was spired to e out as gay after seeg people bullied onle for their sexual orientatn.

And while laws legalizg same-sex marriage are sweepg plac like the Uned Stat, Lat Ameri and Europe, gay rights advot are still stgglg to secure basic protectns Asia, where Apple generated 27 percent of s revenue the fourth quarter. In Cha, the se of many of the factori that produce Apple gadgets, there are no legal protectns for gays and lbians, and the ernment ocsnally cracks down on rights Che social media, some homophobic jok ma the rounds, and Mr.

APPLE’S TIM COOK SAYS HE IS GAY. HERE’S A REMR THAT NOT EVERYONE IS PLEASED.

“They’re not gog to throw him out, or shut down Apple pani, bee will be bad for their bs and bad for their enomy, ” said Grace Poore, director of Asia and Pacific Island programs at the Internatnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights home, Mr.

Silin Valley, wh s nonstop foc on the future and s lotn one of the most socially liberal parts of the untry, has long been publicly supportive of gays and lbians. Major tech pani field large ntgents San Francis’s annual gay pri para, wh some dtry lears, cludg Facebook’s chief, Mark Zuckerberg, and Mr. But tech pani, particularly start-ups found and staffed largely by young whe men, have stggled to al wh a aternylike workplace atmosphere hospable to women and gay people.

Cook’s public disclosure of his sexual orientatn uld help fe the issue, he Cook has been outspoken on gay rights for some time, though he has always stopped short of sayg he himself was gay. Cook cricized the state of Alabama at a speech Montgomery for beg too slow to protect the rights of gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people.

THE FASCATG THG THAT HAPPENED WHEN APPLE CEO TIM COOK STOOD UP FOR GAY RIGHTS

Senk, the former chief of Urban Outfters, which owns the retail cha Anthropologie, is openly gay and said his sexualy did not have a visible effect on the pany. “I’m proud to be gay, and I nsir beg gay among the greatt gifts God has given me, ” Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote a Bloomberg Bsweek say, discsg his sexual orientatn for the first time that Cook has e out, some people and groups who oppose LGBT rights have spoken out about the reactn to his announcement has mostly stayed te to the recent environment, which high-profile g-out statements are followed by a relative lack of ntroversy — perhaps a sign that LGBT orientatns are no longer a viable wedge issue the mastream. So if hearg that the CEO of Apple is gay n help someone stgglg to e to terms wh who he or she is, or brg fort to anyone who feels alone, or spire people to sist on their equaly, then ’s worth the tra-off wh my own privacy.

”On, Shapiro drew a siar parison to Fischer’s between the media reactn to Tim Cook’s say and the ntroversy over the news that Brendan Eich, CEO of Mozilla Firefox, fancially supported the California ballot measure agast gay parison after a paragraph of requts to “put asi” Shapiro’s grievanc wh Cook’s announcement, cludg “ambiguy as to whether he nsirs his sexual drive a gift om God or his choic about how to act on them a gift om God, ” and “Cook’s own self-aggrandizg nonsense about announcg his sexual predilectns orr to help others. ”Instead, Shapiro wants people to “foc on the fact that Cook don’t jt e out as gay, he then says that he will e Apple as a polil tool the fight for homosexual rights. Activists argued that the laws would effectively legalize discrimatn, allowg shopkeepers to turn away gay the height of the as, an unlikely voice chimed .

APPLE CEO TIM COOK SAYS BEG GAY IS 'GIFT FROM GOD;' TED CZ REPLI THAT'S HIS 'PERSONAL DECISN'

Cook, who is gay, said the op-ed that he was speakg out on behalf of that same time, another high-profile executive was discsg a social missn of his own. They noted other exampl, like Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfe’s ments supportg gay marriage, or Facebook chief operatg officer Sheryl Sandberg’s work battg genr discrimatn.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK CELEBRAT SUPREME COURT CISN ON GAY MARRIAGE WH QUOTE OM STEVE JOBS

Through their so-lled “rporate rponsibily” work, pani hope to generate a warm glow that attracts ctomers and softens gay marriage and race relatns are lightng rod issu Ameri, and 's not immediately clear if speakg out on them will attract ctomers or ph them away. By ntrast, when people were told about one of Tim Cook’s bland opns on management philosophy, had ltle effect on purchase seems that Cook’s gay rights activism particularly motivated people to buy om the ’s activism was most effective, of urse, at openg up the wallets of people who already supported same-sex marriage.

| (Photo: Rters/Lucy Nicholson)The powerful and once private CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, went public and polil wh his homosexualy Thursday llg a "gift om God" while throwg his support behd gay marriage. Mastream media and gay advot celebrated Thursday when Cook revealed a Bloomberg Bsweek op-ed that God ma him gay and he would advote for gay marriage and the general advancement of gays and other until "my to pot up. So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I nsir beg gay among the greatt gifts God has given me, " wrote Cook Thursday, makg him the first openly gay chief executive of a fortune 500 employe rry rabow flags as they march the San Francis Gay Pri Ftival California, June 29, 2014.

APPLE'S TIM COOK IN RARE COMPANY AS PUBLICLY GAY CHIEF EXECUTIVE

| (Photo: Rters/Noah Berger)Although he clared that he don't nsir himself an activist, Cook quickly ma clear the op-ed that the reason he cid to make public somethg those his circl have known for years, is to advote on behalf of the gay muny, and he voked the words of civil rights in, Dr. There are many plac where landlords n evict tenants for beg gay, or where we n be barred om visg sick partners and sharg their legaci.

Tim Cook: Beg gay 'is God's greatt gift to me' | CNN Bs

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