Apple CEO Tim Cook Attends Gay Pride Parade After Being ‘Outed’ By CNBC Anchor

Days after being outed by a CNBC anchor, Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed his support for Apple employees at San Francisco’s annual Gay Pride Parade on Sunday.

Cook and Apple employees donned special T-shirts for the event during Sunday’s Pride festivities, reported Reuters. The CEO did not march in the parade, but Cook tweeted a photo on Sunday of Apple employees marching with the company’s logo. He also posed for many photos with Apple employees, Buzzfeed reported.

Apple employees told Reuters the turnout at the parade was the largest ever for the company, which is striving to “boost morale among employees and reflect a corporate culture of diversity.”

Apple also handed out iTunes gift cards for one free song to attendees at the Pride Parade.

"Apple believes equality and diversity make us stronger, and we're proud to support our employees and their friends and families in this weekend's celebration," Apple spokeswoman Michaela Wilkinson said.

Cook’s appearance at Pride festivities comes just days after CNBC anchor Simon Hobbs outed Cook during a segment on “Squawk on the Street.” While speaking with New York Times columnist James Stewart on Friday, Hobbs said, “I think Tim Cook is fairly open about the fact that he’s gay at the head of Apple, isn’t he?” The pair were discussing a new book, “The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out Is Good Business,” by former BP CEO Lord John Brown.

Hobbs also said, “Oh dear, was that an error?”

Stewart replied: “I don’t want to comment on anybody who might or might not be. I’m not going to out anybody. I called a lot of people and no one at any major company would allow their names to be used.”

There has long been speculation that Cook is gay, though he has never publicly commented on his sexuality. However, Gawker has reported that Cook's sexuality is well known within the Apple community and among tech circles in Silicon Valley.

Last December, Cook gave a speech about human rights at the United Nations, discussing the personal discrimination he’s witnessed over the years.

“Since these early days, I have seen and have experienced many types of discrimination, and all of them were rooted in the fear of people that were different than the majority,” he said.

He also spoke directly of gay rights, Time reported, saying: “Now is the time to write these basic principles of human dignity into the book of law.”