Anderson Cooper announces the birth of his son, Wyatt

Anderson Cooper is a father.

The CNN anchor announced the “joyful news” on air Thursday at the end of the network’s global town hall on the COVID-19 pandemic. He also shared photos of his son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper, on Instagram.

“On Monday I became a father,” Cooper said during the telecast. “I’m a dad, I have a son, and I want you to meet him.”

Cooper shared that Wyatt is named after his father, who died when he was 10. “I hope I can be as good a dad as he was,” he said.

He also explained to viewers that Morgan is a family name on his mother’s side. His mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, died last year.

Wyatt was born via surrogate and in his Instagram post, Cooper expressed his thanks to the woman who carried Wyatt and her family for the “extraordinary blessing,” as well as to “the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son’s birth.”

“As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I’m grateful for all those who have paved the way,” Cooper wrote. “I do wish my mom and dad and my brother, Carter, were alive to meet Wyatt, but I like to believe they can see him. I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing, happy to know that their love is alive in me and in Wyatt, and that our family continues.”

The many well wishers celebrating Cooper’s news on Twitter included Billy Eichner, Debra Messing, Meghan McCain and Billie Jean King along with Rep. Eric Swalwell, who asked, “Will you and [Andy Cohen, also a new dad] even make it to midnight this New Year’s Eve?”