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Tim Cook , the Apple CEO who came out as gay publicly for the first time in October, has had an Alabama bill to outlaw discrimination based on sexuality in the workplace named after him.
Gay state congresswoman Patricia Todd revealed her intentions to name the legislation – called the Tim Cook Economic Development Act – after the technology entrepreneur following his decision to become the first out CEO in a Top 100 company in history.
Cook initially stayed quiet on Todd’s tribute, which led some to claim he was at odds with the use of his name.
However, he has since declared himself to be “honoured” by the title.
“Todd wanted to name an anti-discrimination bill after him, and we’re sorry if there was any miscommunication about it,” an Apple spokesperson told Reuters.
Show all 17 1 /17The most important recent coming outs The most important recent coming outs Kristen Stewart The actress has finally spoken about her private life, admitting that she is very much in love with her girlfriend and former personal assistant, Alicia Cargile. In the recently released interview with Elle UK, Stewart said: "I think also right now I'm just really in love with my girlfriend. We've broken up a couple of times and gotten back together, and this time I was like, 'Finally, I can feel again.'"
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The most important recent coming outs Cara Delevingne The supermodel, whose last serious relationship was with bisexual actress Michelle Rodriguez, shared a picture of herself wearing a 'We Are You' T-shirt in honour of National Coming Out Day and added an enigmatic message: "Doesn't matter who you are or what you believe it, we are one! Go get yourself one of these shirts right now!"
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The most important recent coming outs Justine Greening Justine Greening was the first British female MP to come out, revealing that she is in a same-sex relationship. Greening announced the news on Twitter during the Gay Pride 2016, saying : "Today's a good day to say I'm in a happy same sex relationship, I campaigned for Stronger In but sometimes you're better off out!"
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The most important recent coming outs Kezia Dugdale The leader of Scotland’s Labour party, Kezia Dugdale, was the fifth key political figure and fourth party leader in Scottish politics to come out as gay. In an interview to a Fabian Review, Dugdale said: “I have a female partner. I don’t talk about it very much because I don’t feel I need to.” Her decision to reveal the information was met with widespread support among Scottish politicians.
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The most important recent coming outs David Mundell Scottish secretary has come out as gay on his personal website, where he wrote that it was time to "acknowledge in public as well as in private, who I am".
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The most important recent coming outs Miley Cyrus Miley Cyrus has described herself as pansexual in the interview with the fashion magazine. Cyrus said: “I’m very open about it – I’m pansexual, but I’m not in a relationship. I’m 22, I’m going on dates, but I change my style every two weeks, let alone who I’m with.”
Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for The ONE Campaign
The most important recent coming outs Bella Thorne Disney's actress has come out as bisexual following her split from English actor Gregg Sulkin. She revealed the news by uploading a picture of her kissing a girl – and then confirmed the speculation in a tweet.
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The most important recent coming outs Ellen Page The 26-year-old actor
came out in an inspirational speech at the Human Rights Campaign’s youth conference, Time to Thrive, on 14 February this year. She spoke about her fear of coming out publicly and the effect that had on her. She said, to the crowd cheering her: 'My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered. And I’m standing here today, with all of the other side of all that pain.' Page said she hoped she could make a difference to others.
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The most important recent coming outs Vicky Beeching Vicky Beeching, a British Christian rock singer popular in America’s Bible Belt,
came out in an interview with The Independent , risking her career. In her interview Beeching talked about her anguish as a teenager as her feelings went against church teachings. Beeching now says she wants to be an advocate for gay rights within the church and came to blows with homophobic US Pastor, Scott Lively. She said to him on Channel 4 News: “I’m taking this step today so young people don’t have to listen to the kind of teaching you peddle, because it damages people.”
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The most important recent coming outs Tom Daley The 20-year-old Olympic diving champion
came out in an emotional YouTube video in December 2013, saying he was 'dating a guy' and in April this year said on ITV’s Celebrity Juice 'I am a gay man now.' This week Daley encouraged gay footballers to come out: 'I think people would be surprised how supported they'd be if they were to come out in a football environment,' he said at the Leaders in Sport conference in London.
The most important recent coming outs Thomas Hitzlsperger Speaking of footballers, the German, former Aston Villa player,
Thomas Hitzsperger, became the highest profile footballer to be openly gay in January this year – he told the German newspaper, Die Zeit: 'It's been a long and difficult process… only in the last few years have I realised that I preferred living with a man.' The 31-year-old retired from the game in 2013 because of injuries. He said that he had thought about coming out earlier while he was still playing for Wolfsburg, but was warned against it. Afterwards he said 'there was not precedent, so people could only speculate on what would happen.'
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The most important recent coming outs Andreja Pejic Getty
The most important recent coming outs Sam Smith The singer and rising star of 2014
came out officially in May this year when he said his album was about unrequited love for a man. Speaking to the Fader he said: 'In the Lonely Hour is about a guy that I fell in love with last year and he didn’t love me back. I think I’m over it now, but I was in a very dark place. I kept feeling lonely in the fact that I hadn’t felt love before.'
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The most important recent coming outs Charlie King The 29-year-old former The Only Way is Essex star Charlie King said he was gay in an interview with This Morning, only this month. In the interview he said he wanted to be honest about his sexuality to help other people in the same situation feel more comfortable about it.
The most important recent coming outs Michael Sam The 24-year-old was virtually unknown at the start of 2014 but came out in February and went on to
become the first openly gay NFL player in the history of American football , hitting the headlines all over the world. He was picked up and then dropped in August by the St Louis Rams, and then became part of the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. He said in the New York Times: 'I’m Michael Sam, I’m a football player and I’m gay.'
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The most important recent coming outs Hodor! The actor, Kristian Nairn, famed for his portrayal of the gentle giant
Hodor on Game of Thrones came out in March this year . He told the Wall Street Journal he didn’t fit the stereotype of what a gay man is supposed to look like: 'You have to be thin, you have to be tanned… that’s never been be me.' He said he 'wanted to show the world that we are varied people, as everyone else, you don’t have to be any way.'
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The most important recent coming outs Ian Thorpe Australia’s swimming champion Ian Thorpe denied being gay for years and did not feel comfortable coming out until July this year
in an interview with Michael Parkinson . Thorpe is a five-time Olympic gold medallist and has recently retired from the sport, in his 2012 autobiography he said he was straight, and in July he said that being gay was something he was only just telling people: 'This is only something that very recently, we're talking the past two weeks, I've been comfortable telling the closest people around me.'
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“We have a long history of support for LGBT rights and we hope every state will embrace workplace equality for all.”
Todd said she has since been in touch with Cook’s official office and hopes to invite him to the state to speak in support of the bill personally.
“We have extended the invitation to him, but he is a busy man and of course Apple comes first,” she said. “I hope he can fit it into his schedule.”
Cook addressed his sexuality for the first time in an open letter published on the Bloomberg Businessweek
“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,” he wrote.
“It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. 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.”
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