Actor Zachary Quinto's decision to 'come out' inspired a newsman to announce he's gay on U.S. TV on Monday.
Co-anchor Dan Kloeffler revealed his sexuality on World News Now while discussing Quinto's recent New York Magazine interview, in which he referred to himself as "a gay man" for the first time.
Kloeffler used the opportunity to 'come out' in an aside, telling viewers, "He's 34, I'm 35 - I'm thinking, I can lose my distraction about dating actors for that one, maybe."
The TV host later took to the ABC News website to explain his comment, crediting the former Heroes star with influencing his decision to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.
Kloeffler writes, "I've never shared that I'm gay on-air, even though I've been out to my family, friends and co-workers for years.
"In fact, an old boyfriend - now best friend - has always given me a hard time about not doing so. But for the same reason that Zach decided to come out, I too, no longer wanted to hide this part of my life.
"There have been too many tragic endings and too many cases of bullying because of intolerance. As a kid I wanted someone to look up to, someone that could relate to the feelings I was having. Most of all, I wanted to know that it would get better. And it did.
"As a journalist, I don't want to be the story, but as a gay man I don't want to stand silent if I can offer some inspiration or encouragement to kids that might be struggling with who they are."
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