Conservative media watcher Brent Bozell had an ugly reaction to Anderson Cooper's announcing that he is gay on Monday.
After years of not publicly addressing his sexual orientation, Cooper finally, and formally, came out in an email interview with Daily Beast writer Andrew Sullivan. "The fact is, I'm gay," Cooper wrote. "Always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud."
Twitter erupted with reactions, as colleagues, friends, and fans alike sent supportive messages. "So proud of you Anderson Cooper. Always have been, always will be," Kelly Ripa wrote. Ellen Degeneres echoed Ripa's message, tweeting, "I'm proud of you, @AndersonCooper."
But not all reactions were as supportive. Conservative writer Brent Bozell, who heads the conservative media watchdog group Media Research Center (MRC), had a different reaction.
Bozell included a link to a 2009 article from MRC's Newsbusters.org, which recounts how Cooper used the term "tea-bagging" when reporting on the early phases of the Tea Party movement. The article includes a video of Cooper and CNN political analyst David Gergen discussing the movement.
"They still haven’t found their voice, Anderson. They’re still -- this happens to a minority party after it’s lost a couple of bad elections, but they’re searching for their voice," Gergen said of Republicans after the 2008 election.
“It’s hard to talk when you’re tea-bagging," Cooper quipped.
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