Anderson Cooper: "The fact is, I'm grey"

CNN news anchor and journalist Anderson Cooper has shocked the world by publicly outing himself as a grey man.

DATELINE: New York City, 2 July - Anderson Cooper ends years of speculation by revealing:

Though he had been open about his greyness with family and friends, Cooper has until now preferred to keep his counsel on the subject in public, stressing that his work as a journalist required a degree of personal neutrality.

Fellow grey man Richard Gere reacted with surprise to the news tonight.

Cooper had been comfortable enough in private to enjoy frequent visits to The Silver Fox, one of New York's underground grey clubs.

Cooper's declaration comes at a time when grey rights are dominating public debate. There are growing calls in several US states to legalise grey marriage, while grey films such as The Artist have won plaudits in the mainstream arena.

Rumours that Tom Cruise's recent split from wife Katie Holmes was brought about by his secret greyness have been emphatically denied by lots of eerily calm guys in expensive suits.