The Long List Of Celebs Who Don't Like Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper has been one of CNN's leading broadcast journalists and political commentators for more than 20 years. He's hosted "Anderson Cooper 360°" and been at the forefront of reporting some of the 21st century's most important stories; through it all, he's hosted town halls and political debates, and he's interviewed some of the nation's most innovative political leaders and operatives. Cooper has also been lauded for his achievements, having won 14 Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades.

Cooper isn't the type of interviewer to hold back in asking the tough questions, and he's shared his opinions plenty of times as well — these actions aren't always appreciated by his interviewees and the subjects of his stories. As a result, Cooper has built up a reputation as a no-nonsense journalist, and not everyone is as enamored with that aspect of his career as others. This has made many people, some on the left and others on the right of the political spectrum, less than pleased with Cooper's work.

These days, it's more likely that someone who opposes his left-leaning political outlook won't hold back in lambasting Cooper for his actions. This has led to several people coming out swinging against the veteran journalist, and many don't mince their words in complaining about his politics, professionalism, and even his sexual orientation. These are the celebs who've had issues with him in the past, and there's a good chance they simply don't like Cooper's work, their interactions with him, or the man himself.

In 2017, Kathy Griffin posted a picture of herself holding a severed head made to look like Donald Trump. At the time, Anderson Cooper and Griffin considered themselves to be great friends, but Cooper commented on the story, permanently altering their relationship. In a tweet posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Cooper wrote, "For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate."

Griffin told People, "I really loved him ... I don't have a punchline for that one." In the end, Griffin cut ties with her former friend, and their relationship appears to have been permanently destroyed. Conversely, Cooper spoke of her and the photo, saying that he only wanted good things for Griffin, so he doesn't appear to hold the same grudge as her, though it's not very likely they'll reconcile. Of course, Griffin's relationship with Cooper wasn't the only issue she faced over the career-ending photo shoot.

Griffin was effectively canceled by those on both sides of the political aisle for her photo shoot. She apologized, saying, "I sincerely apologize. I am just now seeing the reaction of these images ... I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn't funny. I get it" (via Entertainment Weekly). Unfortunately, the damage was done, and Griffin's career came crashing down alongside her relationship with Cooper and likely others as well.

Anderson Cooper broke new ground as the first LGBT person to moderate a presidential debate in 2016, and he's been heavily involved in covering presidential politics. He's covered Donald Trump for years, and he had a somewhat challenging interview with comedian and radio host Charlamagne Tha God over his and CNN's coverage of Trump. Charlamagne called out CNN for focusing less attention on Trump's label as a fascist and more divisive focus on Kamala Harris' campaign.

Specifically, covering Trump's comments about her race and other issues that detracted from the nature of Harris' competition in the election. During his interview with Charlamagne, Cooper called him out on this, going so far as to say his opinion of CNN's coverage was "bulls***." Despite his objection, Charlamagne doubled down, asking why CNN would host roundtable discussions on topics like Harris' "Blackness" and how she was called a DEI hire when they could have hosted similar discussions about Trump's perceived fascism.

Cooper also doubled down on his insistence that CNN and he covered Trump every night, but he admitted that some guests did inject false claims about Harris to derail the conversation. The back and forth between Cooper and Charlamagne was contentious, and neither backed down from their stated views. While it's unclear if this interaction put Cooper on Charlamagne's list of people he dislikes, it was a noteworthy conversation that suggests they won't be hanging out anytime soon.

In 2012, Anderson Cooper came out as gay, making him one of the most prominent gay journalists on American television. His stated reason for revealing his private life was that he saw an increase in discrimination and bullying in the U.S. about people's sexual orientation. He'd been harassed by Out and Gawker to come out for years, so he felt some bullying as well, though he never claimed to be "in" to the people close to him.

Regardless, Cooper came out to the world, and one person who didn't appreciate this was the oft-contentious Star Jones, who decided Cooper only revealed his sexual orientation to boost his show's ratings. Jones said on "The Today Show," "I've been in daytime television for a long time. He's a daytime talk show host, and when the ratings slip in daytime, the hosts tend to tell you lots of things about them" (via HuffPost).

This didn't sit well with Cooper, who addressed Jones' comments on his show "Anderson Live," where he indicated he was annoyed more than anything. Cooper mentioned Jones using her wedding to get free products while she was on "The View." He recalled her lying about getting gastric bypass surgery and said, "So, for her to suddenly emerge out of the shadows and suddenly attack me for this, I couldn't believe it" (via HuffPost). Jones snarkily apologized on X, claiming he used her to boost his ratings instead of her previous accusation.

There's no denying that Piers Morgan is a controversial figure, but for several years, he hosted "Piers Morgan Live" on CNN. That show ran from 2011 to 2014 but was canceled due to suffering a dip in ratings. At the time, Morgan was working with Jeff Bewkes, the chief of Time Warner, which owns CNN, about what he might do next with the network. 

Morgan had plenty of ideas he pitched to Bewkes, who was receptive, but ultimately, the network cut ties with him. Morgan penned a letter to The Hollywood Reporter about his situation, and he pointed some blame at Anderson Cooper. In his letter, Morgan wrote that he wanted CNN to hire Megyn Kelly, but Bewkes told him he wasn't able to get her on contract. Soon after, Kelly moved to Fox News primetime. 

Morgan said, "She'd give me a much better lead-in than Anderson Cooper, who for all his qualities as a reporter is stiff in a studio and gets annihilated in the ratings every night by [Bill] O'Reilly." Morgan's beef centered around Cooper's lead-in, which he explained later to Politico: "Could I have done with a better lead-in? Yes. Anderson is a great field reporter, but does he drive big ratings at CNN outside of a big news cycle? I don't see any evidence of it. And yet the whole bank was being bet on him at 8 and 10 o'clock."

In 2013, Jennifer Lawrence won the Academy Award for best actress for her work in "Silver Linings Playbook." She walked to the stage but stumbled up the steps. She got up and took her award, saying, "You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell, and that's really embarrassing, but thank you." It was an endearing moment that further humanized the young actor, but not everyone believed it was an accident.

Anderson Cooper said on CNN, "Well, she obviously faked the fall," which humiliated her. Upon hearing his comment, Lawrence said, "It was so devastating because it was this horrific humiliation to me" (via People). On the "Absolutely Not Podcast," Lawrence explained that she was so flustered by her fall that her speech flew out of her mind, leaving her without her prepared remarks.

This led to an uncomfortable confrontation between Lawrence and Cooper. Lawrence explained, "I saw him at a Christmas party, and I let him know. My friend told me a vein was bulging out of my eyes. He apologized. I think we're good friends now. On my end, we're all good. What I led with was, 'Have you ever tried to walk up stairs in a ball gown? So then how do you know?' He apologized immediately, and said he didn't know, and gave this wonderful apology." Fortunately, Lawrence's dislike of Cooper dissipated, but she was fired up for some time.

Donald Trump is easily the most polarizing figure in American politics, and that's partly due to his penchant for saying exactly how he feels without a filter. Because Anderson Cooper has covered him for years, and Trump doesn't appreciate any negative coverage of him or his actions, this has led to a less than cordial relationship between the two. On at least three occasions, Trump has referred to Cooper as "Allison Cooper."

During a rally in Michigan, Trump did this and mockingly followed up with, "Oh, she said no, his name is Anderson. Oh no" (via GV Wire). His reason for calling Cooper "Allison" appears to be less about the fact that Cooper has covered Trump honestly and instead seems to be because he's gay. Trump has a love for giving his critics derisive nicknames, and Cooper is one of many targets of this proclivity. Trump's apparent anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in and around Cooper often mirrors his policies, so it's pretty clear why he chose "Allison" as Cooper's derisive moniker.

Cooper has discussed Trump's comment about him on his show, stating that he believed Trump's dislike of him was primarily related to his coverage of E. Jean Carroll and her case against Trump. At a rally, Trump said that he believed the editing of an interview indicated Cooper influenced Carroll's comments.

In September 2024, Anderson Cooper aired an image of far-right political activist and seriously shady character Laura Loomer, which she didn't appreciate. Specifically, Loomer didn't like the image because it was doctored, and Cooper didn't note this in his coverage. This was an oversight on CNN's part, and other outlets misidentified the image as accurate, but Loomer nonetheless took aim at Cooper. The image and coverage dealt with Loomer working closely with then-candidate Donald Trump.

CNN issued an apology over its improper use of the doctored picture, but Loomer was particularly upset that Cooper didn't personally apologize. She posted on X, "Why are you sending a female colleague of yours to apologize for your defamation? If you do not issue a retraction in writing on X for showing fake and photoshopped pics of me and [Trump] in an effort to spew a sick, misogynistic, and defamatory attack against me, I will sue you, the same way I'm going to sue @billmaher."

In the same post, she called Cooper a coward for not issuing the apology himself, demanded a retraction, called CNN and Cooper "fake news," and more. Cooper ultimately apologized, having read the CNN apology live on his show. Still, Loomer either didn't know this when she issued her threat to sue him, or she disregarded it to draw attention to the issue, as he apologized weeks before she wrote her post on X.

The January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was a massive conflagration of anger and outrage at the result of the 2020 Presidential Election, which was covered by pretty much every news outlet. The riot resulted in numerous Capitol Police injuries, widespread damage, and several deaths. It was anything but peaceful, but if you ask Tucker Carlson, he'd likely disagree. Carlson took to his platform to denounce claims that the riot was anything but peaceful.

Carlson was called out for this by many in the media, including Anderson Cooper, who derided his coverage calling rioters "sightseers." During a discussion with a former D.C. Metropolitan police officer, Cooper said, "The idea of Tucker Carlson being in that mob that day and not wetting his pants is hard to imagine. I find it hard to understand somebody who has never put himself in harm's way in any capacity for anyone else or on reporting a story and yet has the audacity to try to rewrite history." (via The Independent).

The vocal commentary has largely been one-sided, as Carlson hasn't addressed Cooper's comments directly. The reason for this could be that it wasn't long after this happened that Fox News fired Carlson. The decision to do this was related to a lawsuit that forced Fox to pay nearly $800 million to Dominion over numerous false election claims, many of which were made by Carlson.

Pam Bondi is a former Florida Attorney General whom President-elect Donald Trump tapped to be his Attorney General. Bondi is an outspoken far-right activist, lobbyist, and politician who fits within the Trump team's vision. Regardless, Bondi is set to take the reins of the Department of Justice, but her problems with Anderson Cooper go back to 2016.

When she was serving as the Attorney General, Bondi clashed with Cooper over gay rights. Cooper spoke on behalf of the LGBTQ community, and he grilled Bondi over her statement, "Anyone who attacks our LGBTQ community will be gone after with the full extent of the law." This came soon after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. Cooper pointed to her comment, suggesting her words contradict what she's said about the LGBTQ community. Specifically, she said gay marriage would "induce public harm" to Floridians (via Variety).

Cooper also called her statements hypocritical, and neither side backed down. Bondi later addressed their interaction during an interview with New York's 710 WOR radio, where she steered away from the conversation, suggesting it wasn't the appropriate time or place for Cooper's comments. She also complained that the clip posted online omitted various talking points she wanted to address, but CNN confirmed it was available in full. Cooper followed up, claiming Bondi's claims were "factually incorrect."

Billy Corgan is probably best known for being the lead guitarist and songwriter for The Smashing Pumpkins. But he's also known for not shying away from a feud. While his disputes often involve bandmates and even other bands, in 2014, he directed his ire toward Anderson Cooper. The reason for this feud stems from Corgan's appearance on the cover of PAWS Magazine as well as a commercial he shot for a local furniture store.

Cooper called out Corgan, saying he was "off his alternative rocker," noting his appearance in the furniture commercial was a step down for him. Cooper suggested that seeing an aging rock star hocking furniture and appearing in a cat magazine was beneath him. Corgan's involvement in PAWS helped raise over $100,000 via private concerts, and he supports the no-kill adoption center wholeheartedly. When he learned of Cooper's distaste for his magazine cover and commercial, he did something about it.

Corgan got into the T-shirt business by creating a new item specifically targeting Cooper. The shirt features two cats wearing white bow ties with the words "F*** You" and "Anderson Cooper" emblazoned on the top and bottom. Corgan also took to X to call Cooper a "Globalist shill," touting the money he helped raise (via Rolling Stone). The shirts weren't made available for sale by the band or Corgan but were given away at a show in or around 2014.