Star Jones Suggests Anderson Cooper Came Out in Attempt To Increase AC360º Ratings

Anderson Cooper has been receiving support from numerous celebrities after he came out to Daily Beast columnist Andrew Sullivan, but don't expect Star Jones to jump on the Cooper band wagon. When Jones, who is a panelist on the "Today" show, was asked by host Natalie Morales about Cooper's recent announcement, she responded with haste.

"I've been in daytime television for a long time," she said. "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. I remember Oprah said she smoked crack. Oprah said she was pregnant at 14 and considered suicide. There were times that you generate information for ratings."

Shocked by her statement, she tried to recover shortly afterwards. "Whoa," the opinionated TV personality exclaimed, "I'm sorry I said that. But I say bravo! Bravo for him!"

Donny Deutsch, another member of the panel seemed to agree with Jones, stating that Cooper's coming out is bound to increase his show's viewership.

We're not saying Jones was truthful in her statement, however, it has been reported that Cooper's show, "Anderson Cooper 360º" ratings have dipped. According to the Daily News, "CNN, which generally tries to stake out the middle ground between right-leaning Fox and left-leaning MSNBC, has seen declining viewership for several years despite bringing in Anderson Cooper at 8 p.m."

Was Cooper's big Announcement a ploy to increase the ratings on "Anderson Cooper 360º?" Weigh in.