Anderson Cooper has thanked fans for their support after confirming he is gay.

The CNN newsreader and talk show host addressed long-running rumours about his sexuality in an open letter to his friend and TheDailyBeast.com columnist Andrew Sullivan, as part of an article about the understated ways famous gay people are making their lifestyles known to the public.

The piece was posted online on Monday (02Jul12), and his Twitter.com page was subsequently flooded with congratulatory messages from fans and famous pals including Ellen DeGeneres, Kelly Ripa and Neil Patrick Harris.

Cooper then took to the site to express his gratitude, writing, "I appreciate all the nice tweets."