Is “Coming Out” the New Publicity Stunt? Star Jones Thinks So
Star Jones makes no apologies for being outspoken, speaking out about her disdain for VH1 reality show “Basketball Wives” and her issues with ABC’s “The View” co-host Barbara Walters. This time, she’s turning her attention to Anderson Cooper, who along with Frank Ocean, came out of the closet this week. Cooper opened up about his sexuality in a letter published by The Daily Beast, saying:
“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. I still consider myself a reserved person and I hope this doesn’t mean an end to a small amount of personal space,” he wrote. “But I do think visibility is important, more important than preserving my reporter’s shield of privacy.”
Star reduced Cooper’s coming out to a mere publicity stunt and likened it to Oprah’s admission of drug use years earlier:
“[Cooper is] a daytime talk show host and when the rating slip in daytime, the hosts tend to tell you lots of things about them. I remember Oprah said she smoked crack, Oprah said she was pregnant at 14 and considered suicide … There [are] times when you generate information for ratings.”
Considering the potential backlash that a public figure faces when “coming out,” it’s hard to accept Jones’ claim that it was probably for publicity. However, it’s fair to assume ratings will increase simply because of the chatter around Anderson Cooper’s big reveal. So does she have a point? source