Now, Apple CEO Tim Cook says ‘I am proud to be gay’
1 Nov 2014 4:46 AM IST
Cook, who had previously never denied being gay but neither had he publicly acknowledged his sexuality, wrote about being gay in an opinion article for Bloomberg.
‘I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me,’ the boss of the world’s largest company said on Thursday. ‘For years, I’ve been open with many people about my sexual orientation. Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me,’ he said. Of course, I’ve had the good fortune to work at a company that loves creativity and innovation and knows it can only flourish when you embrace people’s differences. Not everyone is so lucky.’
Cook, 53, who became the boss of Apple in August 2011 shortly before founder Steve Jobs died after a long battle against pancreatic cancer, said: ‘While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.’
Out magazine listed him on its 2013 ‘power list’, while tech blog Valleywag castigated the New York Times for erasing Cook when it wrote in May that ‘there is not a single openly gay chief executive at the nation’s 1,000 biggest companies.’ Until on Thursday, Cook had also never confirmed that he is a gay man, to the extent that a CNBC anchor caused a minor fracas in June when he described Cook as ‘fairly openabout the fact that he’s gay’.Cook, who has worked at Apple since 1998, said he had not previously opened up about his sexuality in an effort to try and maintain a level of privacy while running one of the world’s most scrutinised companies.
‘Throughout my professional life, I’ve tried to maintain a basic level of privacy. I come from humble roots, and I don’t seek to draw attention to myself,’ he said. ‘Apple is already one of the most closely watched companies in the world, and I like keeping the focus on our products and the incredible things our customers achieve with them.‘At the same time, I believe deeply in the words of Dr Martin Luther King, who said: ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ ‘ I often challenge myself with that question, and I’ve come to realise that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important. That’s what has led me to on Thursday.’
‘I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me,’ the boss of the world’s largest company said on Thursday. ‘For years, I’ve been open with many people about my sexual orientation. Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me,’ he said. Of course, I’ve had the good fortune to work at a company that loves creativity and innovation and knows it can only flourish when you embrace people’s differences. Not everyone is so lucky.’
Cook, 53, who became the boss of Apple in August 2011 shortly before founder Steve Jobs died after a long battle against pancreatic cancer, said: ‘While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.’
Out magazine listed him on its 2013 ‘power list’, while tech blog Valleywag castigated the New York Times for erasing Cook when it wrote in May that ‘there is not a single openly gay chief executive at the nation’s 1,000 biggest companies.’ Until on Thursday, Cook had also never confirmed that he is a gay man, to the extent that a CNBC anchor caused a minor fracas in June when he described Cook as ‘fairly openabout the fact that he’s gay’.Cook, who has worked at Apple since 1998, said he had not previously opened up about his sexuality in an effort to try and maintain a level of privacy while running one of the world’s most scrutinised companies.
‘Throughout my professional life, I’ve tried to maintain a basic level of privacy. I come from humble roots, and I don’t seek to draw attention to myself,’ he said. ‘Apple is already one of the most closely watched companies in the world, and I like keeping the focus on our products and the incredible things our customers achieve with them.‘At the same time, I believe deeply in the words of Dr Martin Luther King, who said: ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ ‘ I often challenge myself with that question, and I’ve come to realise that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important. That’s what has led me to on Thursday.’
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