CNN Confirms It

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September 30th, 2010
12:22 PM ET

Anderson Cooper to host daytime show

Yes, everyone, it looks like the rumors are true: Anderson Cooper is indeed moving to daytime.

The CNN host has signed a deal for an hour-long daily daytime show that is set for national syndication in Fall 2011, according to a statement. The aim of the show is to cover the stories everyone’s talking about around the “water cooler,” and will focus on everything from social issues to pop culture, human interest pieces to trends and events.

On top of hosting this new daytime show, Cooper will still man the desk on CNN's “AC:360” weeknights at 10 p.m.

By interviewing a mix of celebs, newsmakers and real people on the daytime program, Cooper aims to “create a daily destination for multiple generations of women looking to be informed and entertained, gain perspective, and stay connected to each other and the world around them,” the press release said. He’s also expected to host town hall meetings on engaging topics like race and infidelity.

“Over the course of the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of daytime programs,” Cooper said in the statement. “It’s fun and interesting to work in daytime television. The format is unique and you can really go in-depth on a wide range of fascinating and compelling stories. With this new program I hope to relay important information and relate to people and the audience in a completely different way."

It's All Over The News!

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10:06 pm - 09/29/2010

Is Anderson Cooper about to be the new Oprah?

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Is Anderson Cooper about to be the new Oprah?

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper is close to a deal for a syndicated daytime talk show. The "Anderson Cooper 360" host is deep in talks with Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for a program that would be pitched to stations in the next couple of weeks targeted to ...

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Anderson Cooper maybe moonlighting on CNN, talk show in works

By April MacIntyre Sep 30, 2010, 3:14 GMT

Anderson Cooper -Los Angeles, CA, USA © Chris Hatcher / PR Photos

CNN's Silver Fox, Anderson Cooper, may be adding an outside network to his resume in addition to the all-news channel.

THR reports exclusively that Cooper, the son of Gloria Vanderbilt, is negotiating for daytime talk show.

Cooper hosts "Anderson Cooper 360" on the network and is often thrust in natural disasters and was especially noted for his Hurricane Katrina coverage on the network.

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Anderson Cooper’s Daytime Talk Show: Will the CNN Star Host His Own Show in 2011?

September 30, 2010 12:52 AM EDT

Anderson Cooper, beloved host of CNN’s ‘Anderson Cooper 360’, definitely has his star on the rise. Rumor has it the news anchor is close to signing a deal with Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros. Domestic Television to host his own syndicated daytime talk show.

Rather than take a traditional, hard news angle, Anderson’s new show would be made of lighter fare, including celebrity and pop culture news, wide interest news topics and hot button social issues, according to the Hollywood Reporter. With Anderson Cooper’s interview skills well known in the journalism industry, the untitled project is speculated to have many on-air guests.

Between Cooper’s dedicated reporting after Hurricane Katrina, hosting New Year’s Eve in 2009 and his award-winning coverage of the earthquake in Haiti, there’s no arguing that the writer, journalist, and former Ford model has achieved some great heights in his career. This new gig, as host and producer of his own daytime talk show, would be a crowning feather in Anderson Cooper’s already decorated cap.

News anchors crossing over into syndicated daytime—and being successful—are few and far between. Usually it takes a much different kind of journalist to keep talk show ratings high than it does to deliver the hard core news. But if anyone can do it, Anderson Cooper can. The handsome, silver-haired CNN anchor is almost as beloved a personality as many of the celebrities in Hollywood today. If he and his managers at CNN come to an agreement with Warner Bros for the show, rumored to air next fall, it’s a good bet his ratings will soar.

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Anderson Cooper Negotiating a Daytime Talk Show!

Sep 29th, 2010 - Just Jared

Anderson Cooper may soon have a new gig! CNN's AC360 host, 43, is close to sealing a deal for his own daytime talk show, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The untitled project won't have a hard-news focus but will still cover social issues and news stories, along with celebrities and pop culture.

Warner Bros. hopes to launch the show next fall and the deal, which would require Anderson to continue hosting his CNN program, may close by the end of this week. [Just Jared]

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Etc., etc., etc...

The Huff Post Noticed

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Anderson Cooper Getting Daytime Talk Show

Huffington Post | Danny Shea First Posted: 09-30-10 -- 08:29 AM | Updated: 09-30-10 -- 11:21 AM

Update: Anderson Cooper has extended his relationship with CNN and confirmed his plans to move forward with a daytime talk show.

"I am pleased that Anderson Cooper has extended his relationship with CNN and will be with us for years to come," CNN Worldwide President Jim Walton said in a statement. "I am also pleased to congratulate Anderson on his new relationship with Telepictures. We think it will be good for Anderson, good for CNN and good for Time Warner."

"I remain as committed as ever to my program on CNN, and will be with CNN for years to come," Cooper added.

The New York Times reports that Warner Brothers confirmed that Cooper has signed on for daytime talk show, which will be shopped around for debut in fall 2011.

"Anderson Cooper is one of the most distinctive voices of the next generation of television," Ken Werner, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution President, said. "His popularity and skills uniquely position him to be the next big syndication franchise."

Original Post: Anderson Cooper is "deep in talks" for a daytime talk show, The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd reports.

Cooper, who is CNN's leading newsman, is reportedly "close to a deal" with Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for a daytime talk show to air in fall 2011.

Cooper regularly sits in for Regis Philbin on "Live! with Regis and Kelly," where he's proved he's can try on new glasses or call himself a loser and is as capable with lighter topics like human mattress dominoes, reality TV and exercise segments as he is with the crisis situations he's built his career on.

Hibberd describes the show as "topical" and says it will cover a broad range of issues:

The show is billed as a topical format that will cover everything from celebrities and pop culture to social issues and wide-interest news stories. Using his well-established interview skills, Cooper's show is expected to welcome a broad range of guests and tackle debate-provoking subjects.

If the deal goes through, Cooper would continue with CNN as host of "Anderson Cooper 360." CNN experimented with Cooper hosting the show before a live studio audience earlier this year.

Cooper hosted ABC reality show "The Mole" in 2000.

USA Today Noticed

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Sep. 30, 2010

Is Anderson Cooper moving to daytime TV?

07:39 AM

Is Anderson Cooper heading to daytime television?

The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed blog reports that the CNN anchor "is close to a deal" for a syndicated talk show.

Cooper, who often fills in for Regis Philbin on Live with Regis and Kelly is said to be in talks with Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for a program targeted to launch in fall 2011.

The show is billed as a topical format that will cover everything from celebrities and pop culture to social issues, but would also show off Cooper's skill with news stories. No comment from Cooper at this point.

UPDATE: It's official. CNN's silver fox is branching out to daytime TV. The show will cover "social trends, entertainment and human interest topics" in an attempt to fill the void Oprah Winfrey will leave after her final season next year.

ABC Noticed

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CNN's Anderson Cooper Signs Daytime Talk Show Deal

By James Hibberd
September 30, 2010

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper has signed a deal to host a syndicated daytime TV talk show in the fall of 2011, while keeping his job as host of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."

Warner Bros. domestic television distribution and Telepictures Productions announced the deal Thursday, and said the daytime show would cover social issues, pop culture, and human interest stories.

Cooper, 43, will also conduct undercover investigations using hidden cameras, and hold town hall meetings on topics like race, infidelity and Internet predators, Warner Bros. and Telepictures said.

The untitled show will fill a gap in the daytime TV talk landscape left by Oprah Winfrey, who is ending "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in May 2011 after 25 years to launch her cable network OWN.

Cooper, who joined CNN in 2001 and has reported on the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said in a statement that daytime TV was "fun and interesting" and he was looking forward to showing another side of himself.

"The format is unique and you can really go in-depth on a wide range of fascinating and compelling stories. With this new program I hope to relay important information and relate to people and the audience in a completely different way," said Cooper, the son of fashion designer and artist Gloria Vanderbilt.

Under the deal, Cooper will continue to anchor his CNN nightly show.

CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton said Cooper's new venture would be "good for Anderson, good for CNN and good for Time Warner."

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

The Next Oprah... ???

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Today's News: Our Take
Report: Anderson Cooper Nearing Deal for Daytime Show

Sep 29, 2010 -- 11:40 PM ET
by Kate Stanhope

Anderson Cooper is nearing a deal for a syndicated daytime talk show, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The 43-year-old 360 host, who's been with CNN for nine years, is negotiating for a program that would be pitched to stations next year as a possible Oprah Winfrey replacement. The show would expand upon Cooper's hard-news background, covering celebrity stories and social issues. Cooper is in negotiations with Telepictures Productions, the same studio behind The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Watch videos of Anderson Cooper

Since gaining notice for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami, there has been speculation about Cooper's future at CNN. Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that he met with CBS, where he is already a special correspondent for 60 Minutes.

After years of declining ratings and firing longtime domestic President Joe Klein on Friday, can CNN really afford to lose one of its biggest stars?

Larry King announces exit from CNN show

If Cooper does leave CNN for syndicated pastures, it would be a hit to the lagging cable news network. CNN has been third behind MSNBC and Fox News in part because of the network's lack of news-making personalities like Cooper. Campbell Brown stepped in May because of her dwindling ratings and the network will lose its most famous name — Larry King — at the end of the year.

CNN's weekday average ratings have slipped 36 percent since just last year, and its planning a major lineup overhaul that includes former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's new show, Parker Spitzer.

It also remains to be seen what kind of audience a news personality like Cooper would draw in daytime. However, Barbara Walters and Meredith Vieira have been able to parlay their serious journalism backgrounds into successful daytime gigs in recent years.

WOW!!! WOW!!! and WOW!!!

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Anderson Cooper launching daytime talk show

by James Hibberd | September 29, 2010 at 6:47 pm

UPDATED: Exclu: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper is launching a syndicated daytime talk show.

The "Anderson Cooper 360" host has made a deal with Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for a program that will be pitched to stations in the next couple of weeks targeted to launch in fall 2011.

The as-yet-untitled project will not have a hard-news focus, though given Cooper's background, he'll bring a more journalistic approach to handling popular topics compared to most daytime fare.

The show is billed as a topical format that will cover everything from celebrities and pop culture to social issues and wide-interest news stories. Using his well-established interview skills, Cooper's show will welcome a broad range of guests and tackle debate-provoking subjects. Segments will include hidden-camera experiments and town-hall meetings, with a focus aimed at appealing to female viewers.

"Over the course of the past few years, I've had the opportunity to work on a number of daytime programs," said Anderson Cooper. "It's fun and interesting to work in daytime television. The format is unique and you can really go in-depth on a wide range of fascinating and compelling stories. With this new program I hope to relay important information and relate to people and the audience in a completely different way. It's an exciting opportunity to show another side of myself and create something worthwhile and special in daytime."

Cooper will also serve as an executive producer.

The talk show deal was complex as it was coordinated between Warner Bros., Cooper and Cooper's employers at CNN -- who have an exclusive contract with the newsman. As part of the deal, Cooper renewed his agreement with the cable news network for a multi-year contract. The deal calls for Cooper to continue hosting "360."

"I am pleased that Anderson Cooper has extended his relationship with CNN and will be with us for years to come," said CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton in a statement Thursday morning. "I am also pleased to congratulate Anderson on his new relationship with Telepictures. We think it will be good for Anderson, good for CNN and good for Time Warner."

Warner Bros. hopes to launch Cooper's show next fall, coming into the marketplace just as talk queen Oprah Winfrey exits to launch her cable network OWN. The vacancy has spurred a surge of talk contenders whose projects are in various stages of deployment (including Dr. Oz, Nancy Grace and Jenny McCarthy).

Cooper's show would air in early fringe in a cash-plus-barter deal, counter-programming more celebrity-oriented programs such as "Access Hollywood." It's not yet clear which station group Warners will line up as its first carriage partner to help galvanize further clearances.

"There is a great opportunity in the marketplace for this type of show," said Ken Werner, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. "Fall '11 begins a transition period when long established franchises are leaving the air and making way for a new generation of shows. Anderson Cooper is one of the most distinctive voices of the next generation of television. His popularity and skills uniquely position him to be the next big syndication franchise."

Cooper has flirted with becoming a talk show host before. He recently experimented with a talk-style format during his "360" tapings. Last year Cooper was rumored to be under consideration for replacing Regis Philbin on "Live! With Regis and Kelly," a show he's guest hosted several times.

The arrival of Cooper on the syndie scene would represent the rare crossover of a TV personality from serious primetime news into the daytime space. Cooper could draw comparisons to silver-haired daytime legend Phil Donahue, though Donahue originally only hosted morning news and radio programs. "The View" co-hosts Barbara Walters and Meredith Vieira, however, both have extensive news experience.

No Denial = Happiness

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Video: Michael J. Fox speaks out on Parkinson's

Posted: September 30th, 2010 -- 09:45 AM ET

Add a comment [to AC360º blog]

Bullying Gays

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Video: Thirteen-year-old bullied to death?

Posted: September 30th, 2010 -- 10:00 AM ET

1 Comment | Add a comment [to AC360º blog]

The Saga Continues: The Accomplice

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Michigan attorney general defends employee's right to blog

Posted: September 30, 2010 -- 07:51 AM ET

Add a comment [to AC360º blog]


(CNN) - Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox defended an assistant's constitutional right to wage an Internet campaign against an openly gay college student, even though he considers that employee a "bully."

"Here in America, we have this thing called the First Amendment, which allows people to express what they think and engage in political and social speech," Cox told Anderson Cooper on CNN's "AC 360" on Wednesday night. "He's clearly a bully ... but is that protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution? Yes."

"Mr. [Andrew] Shirvell is sort of a frontline grunt assistant prosecutor in my office," Cox said. "He does satisfactory work and off-hours, he's free to engage under both our civil service rules, Michigan Supreme Court rulings and the United States Supreme Court rule."

For nearly six months, Shirvell, an assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan, has blogged about college student Chris Armstrong, an openly gay student assembly president at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Shirvell launched his blog in late April using the online moniker "Concerned Michigan Alumnus."

"Welcome to 'Chris Armstrong Watch,'" Shirvell wrote in his inaugural blog post. "This is a site for concerned University of Michigan alumni, students and others who oppose the recent election of Chris Armstrong -- a RADICAL HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVIST, RACIST, ELITIST, & LIAR -- as the new head of student government."

Among other things, Shirvell has published blog posts that accuse Armstrong of going back on a campaign promise he made to minority students; engaging in "flagrant sexual promiscuity" with another male member of the student government; sexually seducing and influencing "a previously conservative [male] student" so much so that the student, according to Shirvell, "morphed into a proponent of the radical homosexual agenda;" hosting a gay orgy in his dorm room in October 2009; and trying to recruit incoming first-year students "to join the homosexual 'lifestyle.'"

In a written statement from his office on Tuesday, Cox distanced his office from Shirvell's comments.

"Mr. Shirvell's personal opinions are his and his alone, and do not reflect the views of the Michigan Department of Attorney General," Cox said in the written statement provided by his office Tuesday night. "But his immaturity and lack of judgment outside the office are clear."

Shirvell said he works on the blog during his off-hours.

On "AC 360" on Tuesday, Shirvell made no apologies for his blog postings, which include a picture of Armstrong with "Resign" written over his face. The same picture also had a swastika superimposed over a gay pride flag, with an arrow pointing toward Armstrong.

Shirvell acknowledged protesting outside of Armstrong's house and calling him "Satan's representative on the student assembly."

"I'm a Christian citizen exercising my First Amendment rights," Shirvell told Cooper. "I have no problem with the fact that Chris is a homosexual. I have a problem with the fact that he's advancing a radical homosexual agenda."

Armstrong has supported gender-neutral housing at the university for transgender students who haven't had sexual reassignment surgery.

Armstrong told CNN he has hired an attorney and is pursuing legal action against Shirvell.

CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin says Armstrong may have grounds for a harassment case.

CNN's Martina Stewart and Ed Payne contributed to this report.

3 Water Colors

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The Other Closeted Gay Person

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Added On September 29, 2010

CNN's Anderson Cooper talks to pastors Ted Haggard and Troy Sanders about the allegations against Bishop Eddie Long.

"This Is Bizarre"

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Video: Toobin sounds off on Andrew Shirvell

Posted: September 29th, 2010 -- 11:30 AM ET

Add a comment [to AC360º blog]

This Is Fun To Watch

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Wednesday, Sep 29, 2010 16:11 ET
Anderson Cooper explores Michigan official's anti-gay jihad

State official fights the "radical homosexual agenda" by hounding an openly gay college student on the Internet

By Justin Elliott

Last night, Anderson Cooper interviewed Andrew Shirvell, an assistant attorney general in Michigan, about Shirvell's obsessive campaign against University of Michigan student assembly president Chris Armstrong, who is openly gay (or, as Shirvell puts it, "gay").

Shirvell, a graduate of University of Michigan and the conservative Ave Maria School of Law, runs the blog "Chris Armstrong Watch" in his spare time. He posts pictures of Armstrong with rainbow flags and swastikas, and also pickets outside Armstrong's house.

Cooper, who has been on a bit of a roll lately, had Shirvell on his show to explain why he's choosing this particular tack in the fight against the "radical homosexual agenda." The ensuing interview has to be one of the best of the year. Watch:

Obsessed Again

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Mich. Assistant AG Has Awkward, Sexually Charged TeeVee Talk

by Josh Fruhlinger

1:45 pm September 29, 2010

Andrew Shirvell is Michigan’s assistant attorney general, a University of Michigan alum, and absolutely 100 percent heterosexual, according to his Facebook page, which lists one of his interests as “Finding the Right Lady” and includes a picture of him touching a human female! While he’s not busy assisting the real attorney general, he does normal, straight-guy stuff, like “building up the kingdom” and maintaining his obsessive blog about the University of Michigan’s student body president, who is gay. Nothing weird about that, no sir!

OK, maybe it’s a little weird? But whatever, it totally worked to achieve its true purpose, which was to get a coveted interview on Anderson Cooper’s show. Do you like watching creepy, awkward dudes who may not be entirely comfortable with certain secret aspects of their lives squirm and roll their eyes a lot while a conversation with a handsome, silver-haired news anchor doesn’t quite go as planned? Then this video is for you, friend! (Skip ahead to 2:50 or so for the actual interview.)


“It appears, though, that you’re obsessed with this young gay man,” says Anderson! The whole thing is pretty much as sexy and terrifying as that you might guess, based on that one quote. It’s like a John Irving novel encapsulted in a 10-minute YouTube video featuring a prematurely balding mid-level state government functionary. (Thanks to Wonkette hero operative “Nick” for the tip!) [YouTube/Facebook]

Dispatches Still Amazing

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Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper

Posted on September 29, 2010 by VioletCrush

Title: Dispatches from the Edge
Author: Anderson Cooper
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; First Edition edition (May 23, 2006)
Source: Library
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5



My thoughts:
I love reading books on War Correspondence but sadly out of all I’ve read I’ve only liked two. But Dispatches from the Edge I loved. I had expected to like it but I wasn’t prepared to like it so much.

Anderson Cooper describes his journey, dispatches rather from developing and third world countries. The first section describes the cyclone that hit Srilanka and many other countries a few years back. Having been to Srilanka recently, I could picture the small towns and the people and it was very painful to read about the destruction of life and property.

The middle section is more a mix of his experiences in war-torn places like parts of Russia, Iraq and Africa. At times there are alternate chapters on the same places but in different times. I guess he wanted to contrast or something but to me that section was most confusing because even though it describes the same place the situation was somewhat different, at least politically. It was difficult to just switch between times.

The last section is on hurricane Katrina. He was in the midst of the hurricane then and his experiences were chilling. And because it was his own country, he was more emotionally involved which reflected in the writing.

What I loved most about the book was that Anderson Cooper didn’t hold back. He let the readers know what his state of mind was then. He described how his father’s death affected his and his brother’s life. He kept running away from reality instead of facing his grief and loss. His brothers suicide was another tragedy that made him runaway from his emotions. He describes his need for always being in crisis and how it was unable for him to adjust to normal life.

Although this book is based on difficult subjects, it really is very easy to read. Highly recommended.

Mouth Wide Open

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VIDEO: Anderson Cooper Opens A Can Of “Le Bitch” On Homophobic Michigan Assistant Attorney General…


Open wide...
Uh…

Please enjoy this fucking insane clip from Anderson Cooper 360, where Andrew Shirvell (an assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan… who is obviously also a repressed homosexual), who decided to launch an insane, bigoted web campaign on openly gay University of Michigan student assembly president, Chris Armstrong, gets his ass handed too him…

My personal favorite part of this clip is where Andrew tells Anderson that he’s not sure why Anderson’s “SOOOO angered” over the particular issue of homophobia…

Bitch better watch his step…

Enjoy:

Sharia Law? In NYC?

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TPMMuckraker
Gaffney On CNN: Mosques Want 'To Destroy Western Civilization From Within' (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | September 29, 2010, 9:44AM

After testifying at a hearing about a proposed mosque in Tennessee, Sharia law "expert" Frank Gaffney went on Anderson Cooper last night to explain why, exactly, the mosque could be another victory for radical American Muslims who want to destroy the United States from within.

Imams' agenda to impose Sharia law "ultimately winds up becoming a cancer inside a society," Gaffney claimed. "No-go zones are typically associated with it where the authorities dare not go. Sharia law is practiced in those no-go zones. They are expanded in due course. And ultimately, you have the groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, with whom many of these mosques and for that matter, Muslim-American organizations of any note, are associated, pursuing a mission that we know, from evidence introduced into another federal trial, is to destroy western civilization from within. That's really worrying."

Gaffney is one of several neocons who allege that 80 percent of mosques in America are led by radical imams who want to overthrow the Constitution and impose Sharia, or Islamic, law. He testified Monday at a hearing in Murfreesboro, Tenn., where an Islamic center and mosque that has been operating for decades is planning an expansion into a bigger facility. Opponents of the mosque are suing, saying county officials broke open meeting law when they approved the plan.

He admitted at the hearing Monday that he's no expert on Sharia.

"I don't hold myself out as an expert on Sharia Law," he said. "But I have talked a lot about that as a threat."

On Anderson Cooper last night, he argued with Akbar Ahmed, chair of Islamic studies at American University and a former Pakistani ambassador for the United Kingdom. Ahmed pointed out that only two percent of Americans are Muslim, and even if all of them wanted to impose Sharia law, they couldn't.

It's good TV. Watch:

Assistant Attorney General "Obsessed"

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Michigan's Assistant Attorney General defends 'obsessed' targeting of gay college student on Anderson Cooper show [video]

Posted by duy on September 29, 2010 9:48 AM

''Long before I started the blog, a couple of weeks before that, the Alliance Defense Fund, a well-known legal Christian foundation put out an alert about Chris.... Chris Armstrong is a radical homosexual activist who got elected partly funded by the gay and lesbian Victory Fund to promote a very, deeply radical agenda at the University of Michigan.... His biggest issue is gender-neutral housing! What we're talking about is anybody, any man or woman wanting to choose to live together. That's a radical redefinition of gender norms.... ''Excuse me Anderson, that's taken from another posting. Somewhere on the internet I may have put out that [he's Satan's representative on the student council], but that's my opinion.... I've protested outside of his house, yes. I'm a Christian citizen exercising my First Amendment rights.''

Andrew Shirvell, an Assistant Attorney General for Michigan. He says he has created a blog and possibly posted on other sites comments, photos, videos, and rants about Chris Armstrong, the Student Assembly President of University of Michigan. Anderson Cooper of CNN confronted Shirvell about his inexplicable "political campaign," noting that Shirvell seemed obsessed with this young gay man. (CNN)

Shirvell has marked up pictures of Armstrong (one with a Nazi swastika atop a rainbow flag), and labeled the college student repeatedly with name calling and extremely negative accusations. Shirvell also seems to argue against the allowance of transgener people in student dorms.

On the blog, Shirvell appears to reference himself in the third person via an anonymous moniker: "Concerned Michigan Alumnus." He lifts posts from the Facebook accounts of Armstrong and his friends, then extends his criticism to include other public figures like "anti-Christian, activist judge" Vaughn Walker and Nancy Pelosi.

His job, as Cooper points out, as an Assistant Attorney General is to fairly represent all of the people of Michigan. Here he admits to Cooper that his personal vendettas are driven by extreme religious doctrine similar to the agenda of the anti-gay legal organization called the Alliance Defense Fund.

''Mr. Shirvell's personal opinions are his and his alone and do not reflect the views of the Michigan Department of Attorney General. But his immaturity and lack of judgment outside the office are clear.''

Statement released by Mike Cox, the Attorney General for Michigan and Andrew Shirvell's boss. Cox does not appear to support equal rights for gays either, and he just announced that his office has joined nine other states to try and stop California's Proposition 8 from being overturned by Judge Walker's ruling that Prop 8 was unconstitutional. (CNN)

''I will not back down. I will not flinch. I will not falter. I will not succumb to any unwarranted attacks. What I will do is I will carry on with the utmost pride and vindication.... I, along with the rest of this assembly, were elected to this body to represent the University. And nothing said about us, or regarding our personal merits, will waive our commitment to serve the student body.... I will continue to fight like hell for the students of this university and to better this campus... I believe in this assembly, and I believe in this government.''

Chris Armstrong, as quoted by the campus newspaper of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, responding to the controversy drummed up by the Assistant Attorney General of Michigan, Andrew Shirvell. Armstrong declines to address any of the accusations that the public official has levied against him as a gay man. (The Daily Michigan)

Watta Queer!!!

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This is the case of another closeted, homophobic queer hiding his queerness under the first amendment right to insult gays so that people will not notice that HE himself is gay... I always thought that the worst enemy of gay people were religious zealots; but now I realize that the real enemy of the gay population is a closeted gay in denial of his own gayness.

At this point I would like to explain that Anderson, as closeted as he might be, he does not fall into this asshole's category, Anderson is gay and accepts himself as gay, obviously he doesn't hide his relationship with Benjamin, he's been photographed all over the city with him; and he is not against any other gay people nor against any gay rights; he just doesn't want to talk, for whatever his reasons, about his gay life in public.

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Video: Michigan assistant AG explains blog targeting gay student

Posted: September 29th, 2010 -- 11:11 AM ET

Add a comment [to AC360º blog]


(CNN) -- For nearly six months, Andrew Shirvell, an assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan, has waged an internet campaign against college student Chris Armstrong, the openly gay student assembly president at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Using the online moniker "Concerned Michigan Alumnus," Shirvell launched his blog in late April.

"Welcome to 'Chris Armstrong Watch,'" Shirvell wrote in his inaugural blog post. "This is a site for concerned University of Michigan alumni, students, and others who oppose the recent election of Chris Armstrong -- a RADICAL HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVIST, RACIST, ELITIST, & LIAR -- as the new head of student government."

Among other things, Shirvell has published blog posts that accuse Armstrong of going back on a campaign promise he made to minority students; engaging in "flagrant sexual promiscuity" with another male member of the student government; sexually seducing and influencing "a previously conservative [male] student" so much so that the student, according to Shirvell, "morphed into a proponent of the radical homosexual agenda;" hosting a gay orgy in his dorm room in October 2009; and trying to recruit incoming first year students "to join the homosexual 'lifestyle.'"

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has declined to comment directly about Shirvell's comments.

"Mr. Shirvell's personal opinions are his and his alone and do not reflect the views of the Michigan Department of Attorney General," Cox said in the written statement provided by his office to CNN's "AC 360" Tuesday night. "But his immaturity and lack of judgment outside the office are clear."

Shirvell said he works on the blog during his off-hours.

On "AC 360," Shirvell made no apologies for his blog postings, which include a picture of Armstrong with "Resign" written over his face. The same picture also had a swastika superimposed over a gay pride flag, with an arrow pointing toward Armstrong.

Shirvell acknowledged protesting outside of Armstrong's house and calling him "Satan's representative on the student assembly."

"I'm a Christian citizen exercising my First Amendment rights," Shirvell told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "I have no problem with the fact that Chris is a homosexual. I have a problem with the fact that he's advancing a radical homosexual agenda."

Armstrong has supported gender-neutral housing at the university for transgender students who haven't had sexual reassignment surgery.

Armstrong told CNN he has hired an attorney but did not give details on what legal action he may pursue. CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin says Armstrong may have grounds for a harassment case.

CNN's Martina Stewart and Ed Payne contributed to this report.

Watch Anderson Cooper 360° weeknights 10pm ET. For the latest from AC360° click here.

4 Colors in 1

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