But...to play devil's advocate, here, Walt was never a fit, sexy presenter on MTV or "The Mole" either.
Cooper wasn't always a serious journalist--he is now, but he started out doing a lot of "heartthrob" gigs. He was a youthful sex symbol who stood out because of his unusual looks (the premature hair, the piercing blue eyes), and when someone is a sex symbol, some (usually very young, but not always) folks enjoy a fantasy that they'll someday dance off with the object of their desire, be that Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers. It helps the daydream along if one knows for which team the object of those affections roots.
Young people have a tendency to believe that fantasy could become reality at a far greater rate than is statistically likely. Oftentimes, because of this, publicists will insist that a client be circumspect so as to not "alienate" a cadre of youth who are lusting after the person--Ricky Martin was a good example of that. There are a number of very well known actors that "everyone knows" are gay, but they don't come out because they fear a box office backlash as a consequence.
Rupert Everett spoke to this very issue a few years ago: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1232588/Rupert-Everett-Coming-gay-actor-ruined-career-Hollywood.html
Actor Rupert Everett is urging gay stars not to 'come out' and to keep their sexuality a secret as it could end their film career.
The 50-year-old My Best Friend's Wedding star came out as gay 20 years ago and admitted that since then, he has been given supporting roles and not lead parts.
Everett is now suggesting that aspiring actors stay in the closet as it could harm their career.
He said: 'It's not that advisable to be honest. It's not very easy. And, honestly, I would not advise any actor necessarily, if he was really thinking of his career, to come out...'The fact is that you could not be, and still cannot be, a 25-year-old homosexual trying to make it in the British film business or the American film business or even the Italian film business.
'It just doesn't work and you're going to hit a brick wall at some point. You're going to manage to make it roll for a certain amount of time, but at the first sign of failure, they'll cut you right off.
Nowadays, Anderson Cooper is still a nice looking gent, but he's older--he isn't getting those teen-aged hearts beating fast like he did in his buff youth. He's also much more "serious journalist" and less "celebrity presenter" these days, as well.
We're getting closer to that "no one blinks an eye" day, but I will be the first to admit that we aren't there yet. I think the Republicans are largely responsible for holding up the wheels of progress--they seem to go out of their way to play some kind of stupid 'shame game'--look at Ken Mehlman and David Brock as two rather obvious examples. The GOP's good buddy, the religious right (who could not be more wrong) also like to throw a few logs of intolerance on the fire on a regular basis.
I think getting 50 state marriage equality would go a long way towards your "no one blinks an eye" goal.
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