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Soon after Anderson Cooper came out of the closet publicly, fellow celebrities and journalists alike reached out to him to offer congratulation and support. Ellen DeGeneres and Neil Patrick Harris tweeted words of encouragement to the CNN anchor.

The host of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" gushed, "I'm proud of you, @AndersonCooper." The Barney Stinson of "How I Met Your Mother" posted a message in a similar tone on his account, "Good for you, @AndersonCooper. You're awesome."

Kelly Ripa added, "So proud of you, @anderson cooper. Always have been, always will be." NeNe Leakes wrote, "That did it ... Now I really love @andersoncooper." Lance Bass also sang praise for Cooper, "What a classy guy."

Jesse Tyler Ferguson tweeted, "One of the reasons I look up to my friend @andersoncooper is his amazing eloquence. Very proud of him!" Fellow CNN presenter Don Lemon couldn't agree more with those stars as writing, "We should all be supportive."

On the other hand, Joan Rivers cracked a lighthearted joke on Cooper's coming-out. "Thrilled @AndersonCooper came out!," she posted. "So, THAT'S why he never wanted to date me! I would've loved having Gloria Vanderbilt as my mother-in-law."

Cooper's New Year's Eve co-host Kathy Griffin, meanwhile, uploaded a picture of them holding hands and lounging under the sun. "Here I am w/ my friend @andersoncooper who I'm so proud of," she stated.

Cooper said he's gay in a letter to the Daily Beast's Andrew Sullivan, citing personal reasons and professional reasons on why he never addressed his sexual orientation before. "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," he stated.

"By remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something - something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true."

"I have always been very open and honest about this part of my life with my friends, my family, and my colleagues. In a perfect world, I don't think it's anyone else's business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted."

"Since my early days as a reporter, I have worked hard to accurately and fairly portray gay and lesbian people in the media - and to fairly and accurately portray those who for whatever reason disapprove of them," he continued. "I've never wanted to be any kind of reporter other than a good one, and I do not desire to promote any cause other than the truth."