The Biggest Thing To Come Out Of Apple…
…And it’s not IOS8 or Yosemite.
It’s Tim Cook.
Apple’s Tim Cook has publicly come out as gay, saying he is proud and considers it “among the greatest gifts God has given me.”
Writing in Businessweek, the chief executive said that while he has never denied his sexuality, he hadn’t publicly acknowledged it either.
“So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me,” he wrote.
“Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life,” he added.
“It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.”
Cook has long been an advocate for LGBT rights, and gave a speech at his former university Auburn University last year in which he touched upon his own experience of discrimination. He wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal voicing his support for workplace equality, stating “At Apple, we try to make sure people understand that they don’t have to check their identity at the door.”
Earlier in the week he criticised his home state Alabama’s lack of action over gay rights in a speech, saying that while we “can’t change the past, but we can learn from it, and we can create a different future.”
Within his essay, Cook admitted that to announce his coming out was not an easy choice.
“I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realise how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy,” he continued.
“I’ll admit that this wasn’t an easy choice. Privacy remains important to me, and I’d like to hold on to a small amount of it.
“When I arrive in my office each morning, I’m greeted by framed photos of Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy. I don’t pretend that writing this puts me in their league. All it does is allow me to look at those pictures and know that I’m doing my part, however small, to help others. We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick.”
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23 Comments
pinkpanthertb
October 31, 03:45Oh the perks… *sigh*
Max
October 31, 03:47Lol
Peak
October 31, 04:35Is itt just me, or is being gay the new cool?
Movers and shakers, power players, big wigs of the society seems to be gay. Maybe that’s why the society is fighting it cos they are seeing it as a global domination.
I’m inspired. Inspired to work harded and make a name for my self. The world is welcome to bash the gayness in me! But they is nothing like a gay man wielding a BOSS whip.
#Inspired
Constant
October 31, 05:26Truly Inspiring. Just the perfect Nitro needed in this race. *goes off to type his Coming Out Speech*
JustJames
October 31, 05:34I’ll be inspired when a Nigerian artist comes out or Aliko Dangote’s son comes out or nollywood brings out a movie that doesn’t show gay people as paedos or lesbians as cultists..
*goes back to sleep*
Brian Collins
October 31, 05:50Two things come to my mind ‘Men in Love’ & ‘White Angels’. We could never dream to have Brokeback Mountain.
daniel
October 31, 06:02As if film and censor Board will let those movies be.. Twill be long before a movie that portrays gay as right will be allowed in Nigeria..
I think our artistes r not gonna ruin their careers or risk their lives to come out bcos there r no laws protecting gay people. I don’t want my beloved Alex Ekubo stoned to death on the road by homophobic Nigerians.
Well done Tim, is it just me that notices how people turn so cute when they come out? Lmao!!!!
pinkpanthertb
October 31, 16:16Lol. Its not just you daniel lol
Micky
October 31, 06:09Such a huge inspiration! I had a filled day of laughter yesterday watching Nigerians go all ballistic on this man. Lol. I was like smash your Apple devises already! Hypocrites oshi!
pinkpanthertb
October 31, 16:20Lmao. Abi o? If its vexing anyone that he’s gay, smash your device to make a statement nah. Nonsense and ingredients.
xpressivejboy
October 31, 06:30*Tears* I’ve had times I regreted being who I am; before today, I had have to lift myself from the miry clay of self-hate, every now and again, with so much struggles…today, I’m so in love with who I am.
#RemainLiftedTimCook
Bobby
October 31, 06:41Wow! Good to hear this…but truly gays r wonderful and skilled. If only d society like ours (Nigeria) will get tins right. Its really d biggest ting to come out of apple…*winks*
Bobby
October 31, 06:45Nigerians r hypocites…yea they should indeed smash their devices cos d ceo is gay…gush. We rule d world…..looooooool.
anonymous
October 31, 06:59Beautiful title and an inspiring read at that.
*heading back to nairaland for a reality check*
king
October 31, 07:30This just validates for me that being gay isn’t all that should be for those that take it too much into their heads…there’s more to life which is doing the best you can, unveiling the wonderful God given Talents one has and making your own sphere of this big round world BETTER than you met it! Which just simply means we need more of us (yes am still rooting for US….for those who may still be confused!!) to go to school, learn more and be more than what pipo could believe you could ever be….go Tim go CEO….and thanx for achieving so much for Apple that you could sit on that SIT!
Peak
October 31, 08:13Ok king u just score urself some cool points,
Well said! Go to school develop urself make a name for urself. No want to. Look or listen to a nobody! Ppl are paying attention to tim cook cos he is SOMEBODY
Khaleesi
October 31, 09:14Tim cook said it all, being gay while a core component of who I am, is not all I am. Whether you like it or not, sexuality especially when its brutally suppressed as gays are in Nigeria forms a strong core of who you are …
Dennis Macauley
October 31, 10:04As always Khaleesi
Khaleesi
October 31, 09:11I v known for a long time that Tim Cook was gay, but when the news that he boldly came out on live TV to the world broke, I was shocked to my roots and then I felt euphoric. I havent heard such good news in a long long time – bravo America, bravo Apple, Bravo Tim Cook!!!!! I cant lie, am so so so proud of you Tim. My darling CNN has been flashing it and scrolling it across their banners since yesterday. Am sure every single Nigerian homophobe has seen it by now. This news is like a sharp dagger to the heart of homophobic hypocrites!!! Dear bigots.!!!! You can start by smashing your beloved iPhones and iPads – but knowing what hypocrites you are, you’ll clutch them tightly and even order for newer apple products. Whether you can like to drink acid or jump off a bridge, apple products will still be a dominant device in the lives of all you disgusting homophobes.
Tim’s coming out says so so much about the level of refined thinking thats abounds in American society. Imagine a prominent Nigerian coming out as gay …
Btw: I once spotted the deeply homophobic Catholic archbishop of Abuja carrying a ipad … I wonder how he’ll feel next time he flips it open and peers into its screen knowing that the company which manufactured it is led by a gay man ***dissolves in uncontrollable peals of laughter with long silky hair flying all over the place***
Dennis Macauley
October 31, 10:06Onayekan has an Ipad
Oyakhilome has an Ipad
Oyedepo has an Ipad
Oritsejafor has an Ipad
Who wants to come over for tea?
Ruby
October 31, 09:22Wow!!!!!
Dennis Macauley
October 31, 10:02How come I haven’t heard this before? Has he disclosed it previously?
Lothario
November 02, 06:37No! Khaleesi does private sessions in her boudoir with him…..that’s how she knows