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CNN's Anderson Cooper jokes about Egypt attack during Naples talk

'I think if you’re going to get beat in the head, you might as well get it on camera,' he said

By Tauren Dyson
Naples Daily News
Posted February 13, 2011 at 10:05 p.m.



NAPLES — Anderson Cooper drew laughter from the sold-out audience in attendance Sunday night in North Naples to listen to the CNN host as part of Naples Town Hall Distinguished Speakers Series, even joking about his recent attack by a mob in Egypt.

“I think if you’re going to get beat in the head, you might as well get it on camera,” Cooper said, getting one of many laughs from the 1,000 people in attendance for the hour-long event at the Ritz-Carlton Naples Beach Resort.

The night featured the Emmy award winning host of "Anderson Cooper 360" recounting various moments in his reporting career, including the recent attack he suffered in Egypt at the hands of government supporters.



For the past two weeks, Egyptian protesters took to the streets of Cairo and other parts of the country, demanding President Hosni Mubarak step down from power.

On Feb. 2, Cooper and his television crew were live on air as an Egyptian sponsored street party died down, he said. A group of pro-Mubarak supporters soon turned into angry mobs later that night and began roaming the streets. Later, Cooper and his crew approached the crowd in an attempt to interview people, but the weary bunch turned violent.

“They were ripping the clothes off of my female producer,” Cooper said. “I’ve been in a lot of riots and a lot of mobs, but I’ve never been the focus of one.”

Cooper said he and his crew were then duped by a man claiming to help move them from harm’s way, only to lead them into the teeth of the violence.

“I gradually realized this guy is not trying to help us. Then, he turned and punched me in the head,” he said.

Others in the mob joined in, punching Cooper repeatedly, as he made his way through the rowdy crowd in Egypt. Cooper can be seen on a video of the beating imploring protesters to “calm down.”

“Reporters have become targets more than ever before,” said the 43-year-old TV news personality. “I don’t want personal concerns over security to impact how I view a story or how I view a place.”

Because of increasing threats faced by field reporters, increased security is necessary, Cooper said.

Overall, reaction to Cooper’s speech was overwhelmingly positive, as the audience delivered a healthy mix of laughter and sighs, while he relived the events of Feb. 2 with humor and melancholy.

“He really described some of the difficult things that he had to view, but he kept a great sense of humor,” said Terry Edwards, a Naples resident.

Some on hand Sunday, viewed Cooper’s sense of humor during the speech, towards the otherwise somber events he faced recently, as his coping mechanism.

“If you really thought about how serious it was, he would never get out of bed in the morning,” said Stefan Bothe, Naples resident. “We all wish we could live a life like that, but very few of us have the guts or chance to do it.”

The speech was the second of four events in the local speakers series.