Anderson Calls Lance Armstrong 'A Complete Jerk'

Reaction has been swift and harsh since news leaked that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong confessed in a new interview with Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs, despite vehement denials throughout his career. Anderson Cooper is the latest to offer an opinion, saying Armstrong's admission proves he behaved "as a complete jerk" for years.

Speaking Wednesday on his talk show Anderson Live, Cooper pointed out that Armstrong was long consistent in his denials despite the large amount of evidence that anti-doping officials had assembled over the years. "I've got to say he was a complete jerk about this for years and years and years," he said.

RELATED: Oprah Calls Lance Armstrong Confession 'Riveting'

"He wouldn't just deny this. He would go after and try to destroy the people who were telling the truth and people who were telling the truth would get anonymous death threats. Even the guy from the anti-doping agency got anonymous email death threats, it's not known who it's from," Cooper said.

He added that early reports about Oprah's interview seemed to indicate that Armstrong was just one of several people doping, while the investigation seems to contradict this. "This is the guy who was the star of the team. And if you read all the reports he pressured and bullied other team members into doping and to go along with him, and if they didn't go along with it they wouldn't be able to stay on the team."

RELATED: Lance Armstrong Agrees to Oprah Interview 

Oprah confirmed Tuesday that Armstrong reversed years of denials to reveal in a new interview to air on her OWN network over two nights beginning Thursday that he used performance-enhancing drugs.