Commenters on this blog and people on Twitter brought up an interesting point yesterday, one which I hadn’t considered before: that Prince Harry purposefully chose two white men as his interviewers for his Spare promotion because he was disgusted by how the British media treated Oprah Winfrey. When Oprah was announced as the first person to interview the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after their exit, the Windsors and the British media went into overdrive to slander… Oprah. They called her a “tabloid talk show host” and even Sophie Wessex tried to pretend like Oprah was merely a minor American celebrity. So how will the British media slander Anderson Cooper, who is a Vanderbilt (practically American royalty) with family ties to the British aristocracy and British royalty? From Ephraim Hardcastle’s column in the Mail:
CNN’s Anderson Cooper joins the growing list of TV presenters subjected to a full Sussex moanathon while interviewing Prince Harry. Who is he? His grandmother was heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, who lost custody of Anderson’s mother (also Gloria) following rumours of a lesbian love affair with a British royal. And his great aunt Thelma was the libidinous mistress of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII) until she made the fatal mistake of introducing him to her friend Wallis Simpson. All told, a Cooper tell-all would be so much more illuminating than Harry’s reheated bleatings about callous courtiers and the horrid media.
“Who is he?” LMAO. Granted, I acknowledge that Coop isn’t as internationally well-known as Oprah. AC is much more familiar to American audiences than an international audience. But it’s just funny to watch British people “discover” Anderson Cooper and his crazy backstory in real time. Like, his mother was GLORIA VANDERBILT. He’s very comfortable in these elitist circles.
The Independent has a story about Anderson’s family too and his family connections to British bluebloods. Amazing.
Photos courtesy of 60 Minutes/CBS, Avalon Red.
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- 138792, Benjamin Maisani and Anderson Cooper seen at the 2015 amfAR Inspiration Gala New York at Spring Studios. New York, New York – Tuesday June 16, 2015. Photograph: © AO Images, PacificCoastNews.,Image: 511910026, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – DIRECT SALES ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: AO Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- Anderson Cooper and boyfriend Benjamin Maisani attend the 26th Annual GLAAD Media Awards on May 9, 2015 at The Waldorf Astoria in New York, New York, USA.,Image: 524149042, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Robin Platzer/Twin Images / Avalon
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- Anderson Cooper at the 16th Annual CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute at the American Museum of Natural History on December 11, 2022 in New York city.,Image: 744081128, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Darla Khazei / Avalon
If they think they can embarrass Anderson, they don’t know Anderson. He’s probably loving this. I mean, he’s besties with Andy Cohen, he would probably be the first to volunteer all of his family’s salacious gossip.
I watched a bit of the CNN New Years Eve show and Andy would sometimes tease Anderson by calling him nepobaby. And of course Andy made sure to say he doesn’t watch Anderson on tv much but would make sure to watch “next Sunday” which was the day before the interview with Harry was announced.
So Andy is loving all this.
LOL that was funny. Andy kept calling Anderson “nepo baby” and in reply Anderson would jump up and down like a toddler and say “I’m not a nepo baby” in a whiney voice. It was hilarious. It shows Anderson has a good sense of humor. He’s a great journalist and I think the interview is going to be really good.
I saw him live at W&M when he interviewed James Comey. During commercial breaks the audience could ask questions. Someone shouted “What’s it like to be a Vanderbilt?” He simply said, “you’ll have to ask my mom.” So slick, it was amazing
At this point, they are just stringing together words into full incoherent nonsense. “Subjected to a Sussex moanathon while interviewing Prince Harry”? Do they not know how interviews work?
LOL this part made me laugh too. You as the journalist choose who you interview. You choose the questions. There’s no “subjecting” Anderson to anything. LOL.
Anderson has also written several books, including one about his life? His family’s past is no secret to anyone who was paying attention.
Yes. Literally titled “Vanderbilt.” Which was a very interesting read, with a lot of interesting family history. Clearly not on the reading list of whoever the hell Ephraim Hardcastle is.
Ephraim Hardcastle is just a name of a gossip column – a lot of people have written under that name. I think it goes back to the 1800’s, but the DM revived it.
I was just thinking Ephraim Hardcastle sounds straight out of a Dickens novel, then Eurydice explains it. It’s a good moniker, I’ll give them that.
Bless the DM. Yes, connected to royalty – but only in a lesbian lover, libidinous mistress kind of way. But if “Ephraim Hardcastle” wants a tell-all he could read Cooper’s book that he wrote with his mother.
You have to give them credit, though. They are making a herculean effort to make Cooper’s family sound trashier than the royals. That’s impossible.
And, no, Cooper couldn’t care less what they say about his ancestors. In general, Americans are less into ancestor worship than the class conscious British aristos.
One of Anderson Cooper’s ancestors was a slave owner who was beaten to death by a slave. Cooper said the ancestor deserved it. So… yeah.
I don’t know how accurate this site is-according to it, QE2 & Anderson Cooper are 15th cousins once removed. (if I’m reading it correctly)
https://famouskin.com/famous-kin-chart.php?name=7516+elizabeth+ii&kin=35747+anderson+cooper&via=8646+robert+goushill
So, maybe not in just a ‘lesbian lover, libidinous mistress kind of way’.
Have fun trying to discredit AC derangers/BM.
Oh, that’s awesome.
Anderson Cooper is also related to Consuelo Vanderbilt who married the 9th Duke of Marlborough (who was land rich but cash poor), thus becoming Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. She was one of many “dollar princesses” who’s dowries bailed out British aristocrats. Cooper is also related to Winston Churchill and Princess Diana through Consuelo, and is thus distantly related to Harry himself. So therefore, without a Vanderbilt there would have been no Winston Churchill, Diana Spenser, or William and Harry.
Winston Churchill is the son of Jennie Jerome one of the original Dollar Princesses who.married the second son of the Duke. Consuelo married Winston’s cousin.
You know who else is and comes from a long line of mistresses to British monarchs?
Queen C*ntsort Camilla Parker Bowles. Fancy that.
Exactly, my first thought reading it is if that’s what they consider slanderous and undermining to his credibility as a journalist they need to avoid looking too closely into the BRF and their associates, we all know that’s a a wild (and occasionally illegal) ride.
Anderson Cooper literally wrote a book in the Vanderbilts. I think he’s quite comfortable and knowledgeable about his family history. This is so typical of the UK, attacking the messenger when it’s basically professional jealousy. Looking forward to it.
And thinking that if they weren’t aware of someone that means that the person was completely unknown and of no importance. It’s the same nonsense they did with Meghan who had a larger social media and charitable endeavor footprint than the Wales’ did before she met Harry. The collective arrogance of these people will never fail to astound me. They (BRF and BM) really think you need to be blessed by them for the world to know you, which explains why they think H&M need their favor. They just don’t get it.
I’m dying at “libidinous mistress”🤣🤣🤣. The word salad.
A non-libidinous mistress would be a failure, wouldn’t she?
I want to work this phrase into a poem or song 😀 my gawd it’s hilarious
Thank you for having the fact that “libidinous mistress” and “detachable p*nis” have the same scansion pop into my head.
Also just realized my nepo baby rule. If you are watching something and someone says “X is Y’s kid “ do you roll your eyes and say “that figures” or do you go “Hmm” and become a bit more interested. Anderson Cooper is definitely the second. Thought highly of him before I learned about his family connections.
libidinous mistress… libidinous mistress…
I woke up this morning with a bad hangover, and my husband was missing again
he must be with his mistress
she’s libidinous
thanks for the earworm, Concern Fae!
So they don’t know that Anderson Cooper has – gasp – written a few books?!? I wouldn’t call his Vanderbilt book a “tell all” but it was certainly interesting and a fairly revealing look into his childhood and upbringing. He also wrote a book with his mother that I haven’t read but I imagine is pretty interesting.
And yes it is funny to see the british press realize that Anderson Cooper is fairly respected here in the US and yes, he comes from what was once one of the richest families in the US. They were messy, but hey, the royals are pretty messy themselves.
The British media always come off as so insular when they try to pretend that people like Oprah and Anderson Cooper are nobodies.
Their anti-Americanism is showing again.
They really are nobodies outside of the USA though. I have never watched an episode of Oprah, I literally learned who she was because of that incident with Tom Cruise going insane on her show. Talk shows don’t get exported and translated.
I disagree about Oprah being a nobody, considering the fuss the UK media made around her attending H&M’s wedding – they 100% knew who she was.
Anderson is more likely; I don’t know most reporters on the BBC or British talk shows. But just because I don’t know those reporters doesn’t make them “nobodies”. and if I was going write an article about one, I would do a bit of research first – at least that’s what a real reporter would do.
Tom jumped on Oprah’s couch in 2005. so it seems like you’ve known who she was for well over a decade. and Becks1 is right (as usual!) that there was a huge fuss made in the brit media about her attending the wedding. there were even articles about what she wore. Oprah is internationally known and has been for many years. claiming Oprah is a “nobody” is ridiculous.
@Kelly you are not serious, are you? Clearly you jest!! They are nobodies outside of America? No, ma’am that’s not true. Anderson Cooper is the face of CNN worldwide, millions of people worldwide know Anderson Cooper because of his reporting and especially reporting from war zones. You surely don’t think CNN is limited to America, do you? If you do, I am shocked.
And Oprah is a very wealthy well-known woman worldwide, even without watching any of her shows. Oprah is …well…Oprah that’s it. There is a reason why Oprah is known by just her one name so no; Oprah and Anderson Cooper are NOT nobodies outside of the US thank you very much.
I’m not American and yet I know both because the American media sphere has a large global reach. Anyone who lives in a country where English is spoken would know who Oprah is and they get CNN and would see Anderson Cooper.
But there is no way British people don’t know who Oprah is.
Wow, you guys really got mad because someone just stated the fact talk shows are a very domestic form of entertainment? Oprah’s show is not exported outside of the USA. We don’t watch it. If we end up knowing about Oprah it’s by association with other American celebrities whose work does get exported – like what happened to me with Tom Cruise (I didn’t even watch that episode, I learned about years later through an E! show about crazy TV moments).
Oprah Winfrey and Anderson Cooper are not Michael Jackson, or Beyonce, or Leonardo DiCaprio. If you’re not an avid consumer of American entertainment there’s no reason you’d know who they are. Oprah isn’t aired outside of the USA and hasn’t been on air for a long time now anyway. CNN is big, but it has local branches and is not everyone’s default source of news anyway. I literally just learned Anderson Cooper is known for working in war zones. I literally thought he specialized on entertainment coverage.
There’s no need to get so up in arms about this. I’m not insulting their careers. I’m just telling you they aren’t as big outside of the USA as you think they are. This may come as a shock to many of you, apparently, but we produce our own talk shows and news channels. American celebrities who aren’t actors or musicians are just not that well-known outside of the USA.
Ok I can buy that there are a lot of regular people outside of the US that don’t know Anderson but I don’t buy that a lot of people in the MEDIA outside of the US don’t know him. Especially the UK media. You really can’t convince me that the UK media knows nothing about US media personalities even though they try and put on their best Mariah Carey “I don’t know her” for anything outside of themselves.
@Kelly but you have people in this thread who are NOT Americans who are telling you they 100% know who Oprah is.
and like I said the British media absolutely 10000% knows who she is. that’s why they were so pressed that she went to the Sussex wedding. It wasn’t until the interview that they started running these stories about how unimportant Oprah was and she was just a “talk show host” and all of that.
And again even Anderson Cooper – I dont know who knows him and who doesn’t outside the US, but I would think any legit journalist in the UK at least would be familiar with him. So this wide eyed take in this article about him is either the author just being fake, or just generally being stupid.
@Erin exactly.
CNN has a world edition that plays in various English language countries and is available on cable in many countries where English isn’t the first language. Anderson Cooper has been covering various wars and events for well over a decade. Unless someone doesn’t ever watch CNN it’s not credible to say he is unknown. He is their star reporter, like Dan Rather, or Tom Brokaw were back in the day. If there is a war or major disaster he is there. Any CNN coverage of hurricane Katrina and he was doing it which was in 2005 so really wondering how he is viewed as an entertainment reporter. Again not an American and never lived in the US. The UK media people would know exactly who he is and also that 60 Minutes is the oldest news program where Mike Wallace, Morley Safer and others worked.
@Becks Yes. Because this is a gossip blog. Of course people HERE know who Oprah is, because we’re avid consumers of American gossip. “Celebitchy users” is obviously an extremely skewed demographic to measure this kind of thing. As for journalists knowing who she is? Well, I guess they do, but here’s the question: Do you think these people would write an article about how Beyoncé or Taylor Swift are “just some American singers”? Of course they wouldn’t, because Beyoncé and Taylor have sold out shows and get played on the radio all the time. People obviously know them. The very fact there exists such an article explaining who Oprah and Anderson are is proof they aren’t that well-known over there.
@Nic919 I had to google Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Mike Wallace and Morley Safer to know who they are. I had never heard of them. Just like I thought Anderson Cooper specialized in entertainment because I had only ever heard of him in gossip blogs like this one.
I don’t even know how else to explain this at this point. The world is bigger than the USA and not everyone outside of that country consumes their media as avidly as the users of a celebrity gossip blog do. Most things I know about Anderson Cooper I learned today, on this thread of comments.
@Kelly, like Original Leigh mentioned, the Oprah Winfrey show was broadcasted in over 140 countries. The countries that encompass the UK included. The Oprah Winfrey show started airing in the UK in the ’80s.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/oct/20/broadcasting
A large percentage of UK media is gossip/tabloid stuff. See RR’s. The point of this current tidbit from the Fail is to be salacious-not informative. Who Anderson Cooper is IS not being explained. It’s not like the Fail hasn’t written about AC before. August 13, 2012. They took the time to write about Cooper’s boyfriend (at the time) kissing another man in a park. (now that we know how the Fail/BM operate-can’t be sure when the pictures are from)
Some passages from the story:
“There was no hint of upset from Cooper last night who looked typically sharp in a navy suit as he joined other A-listers in New York to watch Beyonce perform at the UN headquarters for World Humanitarian Day.” note-other A-listers
“The journalist is also one of the most high profile people to come out in recent years, given that he hosts CNN’s ‘Anderson Cooper 360’ and his own daytime TV talk show.”
Another interesting tidbit about Anderson Cooper. Following his sophomore and junior years at Yale — a well-known recruiting ground for the CIA-Cooper interned at the CIA headquarters in Langley.
@Kelly – Oprah’s show was aired in 145 countries (some sources say 156 countries) and she was very popular internationally – even had an entire channel devoted to her in the Middle East. Plus, she’s been in films (nominated for a BAFTA among other awards). She’s been working somewhat behind the scenes now, especially since the pandemic, but she’s definitely not just a local celebrity. I’ll agree with you about the US journalists.
“This may come as a shock to many of you, apparently, but we produce our own talk shows and news channels. American celebrities who aren’t actors or musicians are just not that well-known outside of the USA.”
*snort*
Yeah, we know, Kelly. Your talk shows and news are all about Meghan, interestingly, an American. Surely you recognize her name, though she’s no Oprah.
I love the people flocking here in fake defense of royals.
@Kelly, no one is attacking you, but you did call Oprah a “nobody” outside of the US, which is naive and oblivious at best, and reveals your personal lack of cultural bonafides at worst (the latter we know is not true, because you’ve known about Oprah since the couch jumping incident).
As someone who grew up living in five different countries, two of them English-speaking (the US and Australia), I can safely say that the world is US-centric in an utterly unavoidable way. To paraphrase Lionel Shriver, it’s one of the few countries with which others are forced to have a relationship, whether peaceful or hostile. Home to the trifecta of Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Hollywood, only someone living in a cave would emerge with zero impressions of America and her countless cultural icons. Anderson Cooper, fair enough, may just be a familiar face while you get your news on. Oprah, on the other hand, may not a be viewing staple for the majority of the world, but she clearly requires little in the way of introduction. People don’t have to watch her to know who she is, just as you don’t need to see one film starring Marilyn Monroe to recognize her image. This is not just a Celebitchy commentariat thing; my cousins who grew up speaking Mandarin in Taiwan know Oprah, and believe me, they definitely have their own talk shows too. Now who is her international equivalent? Did I hear “nobody” because yes dear, that would indeed be true.
Your insistence on comparing Oprah to Beyonce and Taylor Swift is a little ridiculous and weird at this point.
But again, I’ll point you to the original comments from both Nic919 and myself, which specifically referenced the British PRESS and the British MEDIA.
The British press and the british media know who Oprah is and they know she is a big freaking deal. People may not have watched her show, but she is known worldwide as OPRAH.
its okay if you weren’t super familiar with her or people you know arent, but you’re moving the goalposts by saying she was a nobody outside of the US, then saying well of course she’d be known on a GOSSIP SITE, then saying she’s not Beyonce or Taylor Swift. You’re comparing apples to oranges.
It’s okay if you misread the initial comments that were specifically about the PRESS and the MEDIA, but just admit it and move on.
@Kelly, not to pile on you but I am South African, I was born here and I know who both Oprah and Anderson Cooper are. We watched Oprah for years here while her show was on and she even had or has her own “O” network. (She may have had her own magazine too, if not, she was certainly featured on many magazine covers (our local magazines.)
We’ve had satellite tv here since the late 80’s/early 90’s. This means we’ve had access to CNN, sky news, bbc Brit (can you believe that here in the southern most tip of Africa, we know about and have watched Eastenders etc) we have had access to US, UK and the rest of the world for a while now.
Not to mention streaming which we do as well. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Disney+ to name a few. Our local networks also stream CNN and sky etc
There is no way Oprah and Anderson Cooper are “nobodies” outside of the US.
Incidentally I knew of Anderson first through CNN and his interviews and subsequently through his friendship with Andy Cohen from Bravo (which we also get here…)
The funniest thing about this is that they didn’t even bother to check AC’s Wikipedia page, which mentions his memoir. These Rota people are not just trash–they’re lazy trash.
Kelly, I’m not “mad” but Oprah is widely known outside of the U.S. Her show aired in over 140 countries, not just the U.S.
From Wikipedia:
“Winfrey was called “arguably the world’s most powerful woman” by CNN and TIME,[150] “arguably the most influential woman in the world” by The American Spectator,[151] “one of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th Century” and “one of the most influential people” from 2004 to 2011 by TIME. Winfrey is the only person to have appeared in the latter list on ten occasions.[152]“
Right. It’s not a matter of being mad. It’s a matter of disbelief and minimizing OW’s & AC’s extensive global body of work. @Kelly is confusing me with saying ‘they aren’t that well known over there’ (UK?) with previously saying, ‘but we produce our own talk shows and news channels.’. It’s a here, there, everywhere kind of thing.
The Fail absolutely knows/has known Oprah’s global power & impact (along with it’s readers). Otherwise, why would they’ve put out an article back in Oct. 2013 stating ‘move over Oprah, Nigerian oil tycoon Folorunsho Alakija is now the richest black woman in the world’. Oprah was first. Yet, when Oprah sat down with H&M, O became just a chat show host.
If Anderson Cooper were to have done an interview with Will for his E@rthsh$tshow, the Fail/BM would have been bleating out William Sits Down With American Multiple Award Winning CNN Journalist News Anchor Anderson Cooper A SNUB to Harry WHERE He Lives In America In His Home With 500 Bathrooms. They would then mention that AC won an Emmy for his coverage of Diana’s funeral and how they are distantly related. No mention of ‘lesbian lover, libidinous mistress’ would be found.
I didn’t know he wrote a book with his mother but I know he was her editor for one. He was horrified by having to edit her sex life. 😂
Well, THAT is one downside to working with family they never mention.
All these British journalists who are complaining about Harry doing interviews would be the first in line if they got the opportunity. I find it strange that the British press doesn’t want Harry to do interviews when they are guaranteed to sell papers and get clicks.
One of the aims of Anderson Cooper’s book “Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of An American Dynasty” was to ensure that his sons will have a factual history of their family, an aim that Prince Harry would totally identify with.
Unlike previous members of the Vanderbilt line, AC’s children do not have “Vanderbilt” in their names. His opinion is that the Vanderbilts’ extreme wealth corrupted them. He did not want that for his children. They are Coopers. He saw how money slipped through Vanderbilt fingers like water. His mother literally lost fortunes. He had to support her in the latter part of her life, taking on extra work so she could redecorate her apartment at whim or to pay for nursing care for her. I found it a very interesting book and gave me an insight into why it’s not necessarily a blessing to be fabulously rich. Heh.
Like Harry, AC loved his mother. These 2 men have a few things in common. AC wouldn’t be fazed by the rr. He’s definitely not a nobody.
That’s why I think it’s such an interesting choice — AC understands what it’s like to carry a legacy on one’s back, and was also the younger brother. I think the 2 of them are an interesting pair.
Also — AC’s recent podcast series about grief, and cleaning out his mother’s apartment, especially the episode about his beloved nanny May and how he supported her in her old age — it’s all very very touching, and real.
Plus both AC and Harry have worked in war zones.
I agree. A very interesting pair indeed.
I’d love AC to go on Colbert and talk about the behind-the-scenes on this particular interview.
Oh rr, AC’s an actual journalist. That’s scary, no?
LIBIDINOUS?!
Oh dear me fetch me the smelling salts, a woman with a libido gasp shock horror what a brazen hussy!
Sorry I saw that word and now I can think of nothing else and cannot stop laughing.
That word also made me laugh. GASP CLUTCHES PEARLS.
Emily_C, well, is this the bm’s way of telling us that the women in the royal family are libido-less? This is hilarious. I wonder when the penny will drop to this writer of tales that he just might be looking way more foolish than how he wanted to portray AC?
Excellent move by Prince Harry. Now come for this American white man, I dare you lol! Chess, not checkers.
Is this all? They were quick to diminish Oprah and ramped up the hate against Obama when he correctly told them Brexit would be a big mistake. They left Tyler Perry alone after initially describing him as the rapper who let HM stay in his mansion. After an epic dragging, they described this billionaire as an actor. They still refuse to acknowledge Oprah’s billionaire status. They’ve also been suspiciously quiet about TP after he blasted the RF and stated he didn’t want to go England for her christening in the docuseries. Lily’s godfather is no joke.
The reference to his “grandmother’s rumored lesbian love affair with a British royal” (they pointedly didn’t name her) and his “great aunt Thelma, libidinous mistress” of the future Traitor king shows their crazy obsession with the sexuality of American women.
I’ll bet they are furiously searching for ways to slander AC and not get sued or exposed while recognizing that this is no average wealthy white man who is also an actual and excellent journalist. Wait until they find out he’s a gay man (gasp) with children (clutch pearls)! /s
The BM are such azz clowns and somehow manage to grow more despicable by the day…
This is the supposed royal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadejda_Mountbatten,_Marchioness_of_Milford_Haven
@AGreatReckoning. Thanks for the link. I wonder how instrumental the maid’s testimony was in Gloria losing custody despite Nada calling the rumor lies.
I’m curious about that too Chantal. Also wondering if the relationship going on was between the sister-in-laws. The Mountbatten wives. Wasn’t it known that Louis & Edwina Mountbatten had an open relationship. The wiki entry (though I know some of that stuff is not true) made it sound like Nada & Edwina spent a lot of time together off on their own.
Word, Chantal. Harry has picked someone for the interview they are going to have a really hard time tearing apart. He’s double dog daring them, to make his point. If they don’t criticize Anderson, they make the fact they went after Oprah like she was chum in the water exactly the racism it was.
If they do criticize Anderson, which tact will they take? He’s unknown? So they are even more idiotic and myopic than we ever thought? Are any members of the British media actually going to say, out loud, they don’t know who Anderson Cooper is, for the royal family’s benefit?? A war correspondent who is exactly on par with Christiane Amanpour, in terms of respect for wandering into places none of the rest of us want to go.
If all else fails, they’ll dog Cooper for being gay. A fact he’s never tried to hide, BTW.
Oh, by all means, focus on the scandalous grandmother, instead of Anderson’s own many accomplishments, his mother’s many accomplishments, or the fact that he is descended from Cornelius Vanderbilt, and that his grandfather’s “summer house” The Breakers pretty much rivals anything the BRF owns.
The Breakers is spectacular. And Cornelius Vanderbilt’s great-great- grandson was the 10th Duke of Marlborough – his mother was Consuelo Vanderbilt.
AC’s Vanderbilt great aunt (his grandfather’s sister, also Gloria) founded the Whitney Museum in Manhattan. Her husband, Harry Payne Whitney, is in both the US Polo and the Horse Racing Halls of Fame. He was a top ranked polo player and helped develop the sport in the US, and was very prominent in both horse racing, and breeding. His son CV Whitney took over the stables after his father died in 1930 and ran it for more than 50 years. TQ would certainly have known who they were.
AC’s mother Gloria grew up on the Whitney estate on Long Island’s not too shabby Gold Coast after her mother lost custody.
If I were Cooper I’d be like….so what’s your point?
Consuelo Vanderbilt married the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1895 and her dowry allowed the family to keep Blenheim Palace. That diarist is well aware of that – and the fact her nephew through the marriage was Winston Churchill. They’re pathetic writing such drivel; it’s par for the course when it comes to anyone the media assumes is “helping” Harry and Meghan expose how the invisible contract works and the abuse from the RF and the institution
Another case of “new” American wealth allowing a dissipated British Toff family to keep their precious old titles and castle.
Anderson Cooper is a very smart, accomplished and impressive person in his own right. He’s a star of the TV journalism world for a reason. I didn’t even know he was Gloria Vanderbilt’s son until he had been famous for about a decade.
But of course the RR are interested in who his ancestors were, not who he is.
There was a documentary series a while ago titled “Million Dollar American Princesses” – also, one called “Alva and Consuelo.” Alva was obsessive about grooming Consuelo to marry an aristocrat.
He picked them because they wouldn’t be subject to the ABUSE that Oprah was. Pretty simple.
I’m a black woman. And I have no issues with who he picked: it was smart. He picked a white male with deep ties to aristocracy and old money. And a member of the Royal press. He has worked NUMEROUS times with Black journos: Including Oprah, Gayle King, and Hoda Kotb.
Harry said that the press were “literally spoon fed” stories. What kind of education do they get in the Royal Family that they don’t know the meaning of “literally” (unless we’re supposed to believe that the stories were provided in actual spoons.)
Lol, the same education as a lot of other people. I hear “literally” all the time when it literally doesn’t mean that.
Perhaps you should look at it as a euphemism and search for the meaning of spoon fed. I think this solves the language issue.
It’s honestly bizarre that they decided to dig into Anderson’s ancestry for an article just because he’s interviewing Harry for his memoir. Like, that’s legitimately a bonkers thing to do, right? How is his family pertinent to a 60 Minutes interview, lol?
Or maybe they only did it because AC’s ancestry is so interesting. But I don’t understand British people. Like you’d think the Vanderbilts being American Gilded Age, robber baron royalty and having messy, dramatic connections with the royal family and British aristocracy would give him more credibility with these people, not less.
Guess they forgot about Consuelo Vanderbilt, who was married to (for a time) the 9th Duke of Marlborough and good friends with Winston Churchill.
Not just good friends, they were related by marriage. She was his aunt by marriage or his first cousin-in-law, I can’t remember.
@Becks1 Considering the state of the British aristocracy I would not be surprised if it was both at the same time via different relatives.
See that is the problem with a royal centric media. The British media will never accept anyone and I mean ANYONE who gives Harry a chance to tell his side of things, and I’m amazed that people in the UK say they don’t know Anderson, I’m a Brit and live in cornwall. I watched CNN all the time and loved watching Anderson, it came as part of my virgin package but they removed it 3 months ago, I’m trying to remember the short roundish chap who is balding he was good as was Erin Burnet. Now, back to the UK media frenzy about Anderson. They will twist and turn every which way they can to try and paint him in a bad light. They have also started on Tom Bradbry who is doing the interview with Harry for the UK audience. You know, all those little englanders that say they WON’T watch, but will drool over every word lol. They put out a statement this week saying Tom is no longer a friend to William, and I say good for Tom and stay as far away from the toxic Palace as you can, because they will try and pull Tom back in to interview William or Edward. Please people realise that the British media lie through their teeth, as do members of the British residents in the “institution”
Anderson Cooper’s family has a scandalous past? GASP!!! Every American who knows about him knew this already. We’re not clutching our pearls and given the BRF’s own sordid history, the BM shouldn’t either.
How long will it take for them to discover that he’s *dramatic whisper* gay?
Those of us who have been around forever remember the book (by Barbara Goldsmith) and the TV miniseries Little Gloria, Happy at Last. I think they deliberately obscured who the supposed lesbian lover was when it was shown in the UK because she was related by marriage to the Mountbattens, and thus, both the Queen and Prince Philip were relatives. As for Oprah being a minor American celebrity (according to Sophie Wessex), her show was shown in 149 countries, including the UK!
Yes, Philip’s aunt by marriage Nada Milford haven. Philip’s brother in law Gottfried was briefly engaged to Gloria. He and his wife margarita flew to nyc for the custody trial. So Philip’s family was well acquainted with Anderson’s!
it is so funny to me that they’re presenting this stuff about Anderson Cooper like it’s a big secret, they really believe that if they’ve never heard of something then no one else has either! This is all straight from his wikipedia page! Like, if you think the Vanderbilts are more interesting than Prince Harry, then I have good news for you: there are SO MANY books about them! They are not unfamous, you just don’t know anything about American history lol
Digging into AC’s background reeks of desperation from the BM. They know Anderson, like Oprah, has journalistic credibility and they don’t. Anderson will get more of a reach because of his CNN connections, and the 60 Minutes interview may tank the ITV ratings for its interview with Harry.
It won’t take AC long to realize he’s being smeared by the tabloid press. It just re affirms everything Harry has said.
Your absolutely right, and unlike Harry, Anderson has a ready built platform for throwing shade back at the British rags. After all look at the level of some of the so called journalists they employ, Peirs Morgan anyone, the man of the phone hacking scandal, printing mocked up pictures of our troops supposedly mistreating prisoners, sacked for lies twice and STILL employed as one. Or look at the history of the Sun newspaper, just go look up Hillsborough and the Sun, or the now defunct News of the World and the reason it was shut down. Anderson could wipe the floor with all of them
The only thing that surprised me about Anderson and his family past is that he and Timothy Olyphant are cousins.
I didn’t know that! Man oh man, that’s one attractive family. 🙂
No kidding!
Did not know that!
One of the other things that bonds Anderson and Harry is the issue of suicide. Anderson’s beloved brother committed suicide. I imagine he understands full well Harry’s terror and fear at the idea Meghan was suicidal.
Whoever selected Anderson for this interview did an outstanding job.
Blue Nails Betty, is it possible that Anderson was the one to get in touch with the publisher for this interview? I really like Anderson’s interview style–no, that doesn’t mean he will go easy on Harry. I just like his interview style. He’ll ask the hard questions, which I believe Harry expects. I’m looking forward to the interview.
Harry’s American great great great grandfather, Franklin Work, was a protege of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Frances Work was close to Alfred Vanderbilt throughout her life and marriages. Frances divorced her useless spouse and bounced back to the us with her kids. Harry’s got some inspiration there! Her eldest son returned as a young adult as he was heir to the fermoy barony but the other two stayed in the us. She is where Diana’s middle name, and her mother’s first, originated. Oliver platt is another g-g-grandchild.
Not gonna lie, Anderson’s family story sounds way more interesting, that part is true. I’d rather have a miniseries on Netflix about his family.