Zachary Quinto Inspires ABC News' Dan Kloeffler to Come Out on Air (Video)

Zachary Quinto's decision to come out has inspired another high-profile personality to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.

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Early Monday morning, Dan Kloeffler, an anchor on ABC's World News Now, came out on the air while discussing the news about Quinto.

Rather than making a formal announcement, however, Kloeffler let the news slip in a joking aside.

STORY: Zachary Quinto Addresses Homosexuality in New Interview, Blog Post

"He's 34, I'm 35 -- I'm thinking, I can lose my distraction about dating actors for that one, maybe," he quipped of Quinto, best known for his roles in the TV series Heroes and the recent Star Trek reboot.

Kloeffler later addressed his own decision to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality in a blog post on ABC News' website.

"I’ve never shared that I’m gay on-air, even though I’ve been out to my family, friends and co-workers for years," he wrote. "In fact, an old boyfriend -- now best friend -- has always given me a hard time about not doing so. But for the same reason that Zach decided to come out, I too, no longer wanted to hide this part of my life.

STORY: Why Zachary Quinto Decided to Acknowledge His Homosexuality

"There have been too many tragic endings and too many cases of bullying because of intolerance. As a kid I wanted someone to look up to, someone that could relate to the feelings I was having. Most of all, I wanted to know that it would get better.

"And it did.

"As a journalist, I don’t want to be the story, but as a gay man I don’t want to stand silent if I can offer some inspiration or encouragement to kids that might be struggling with who they are."

His comments echo those of Quinto, who wrote in a weekend blog post on his website that he was inspired to come out after learning of the death of Jamey Rodemeyer, the gay teen who committed suicide last month after years of being bullied.

STORY: Zachary Quinto Applauded by Fans for Coming Out

“In light of Jamey's death," he wrote, "it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality."

He continued: "Our society needs to recognize the unstoppable momentum toward unequivocal civil equality for every gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered citizen of this country. Gay kids need to stop killing themselves because they are made to feel worthless by cruel and relentless bullying." 

Quinto first revealed he is gay in an interview with New York magazine that his the Internet over the weekend.

STORY: Zachary Quinto: What's Next for the Actor

The actor is currently in theaters in a small role in What’s Your Number? -- playing a boyfriend of Anna Faris -- and will be seen later this month playing a gay dead owner of the haunted house in FX's American Horror Story. His new movie, Margin Call, which he co-produced and stars opposite Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany and Jeremy Irons, opens Oct. 21.