Apple CEO Tim Cook tells Stephen Colbert why he came out as gay

Apple CEO Tim Cook explains why he came out as gay

(Image credit: Late Show)

On Tuesday's Late Show, Stephen Colbert asked Apple chief executive Tim Cook about starting a charitable arm at Apple, and if that decision was informed by growing up gay in Alabama. But he started the question with a joke, asking about coming out recently: "Was that an upgrade, or just a feature that had not been turned on before?"

After everyone was done laughing, Cook said that yes, growing up an outsider helped him see the need to make things better for other people. Citing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cook said he asks himself everyday if he is doing enough for others, and looking at the gay children being bullied and rejected by friends and family, he decided he wasn't. "Where I valued my privacy significantly, I felt I was valuing it too far above what I could do for other people," he explained. Not that his coming out was a surprise to many people he knew and worked with, Cook said. ("It's like discovering something on your iPhone. It's always done but you didn't quite know it.") But he felt a "tremendous responsibility" to share his truth with the rest of the world. Watch the interview below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.