Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt has said it would have been “really tacky” if he had refuted gay innuendo by two celebrity photographers.

In 2006, Gordon-Levitt put up a short film on YouTube about two photographers who were harassing him and a male friend as they walked down the street at night in New York City. In the video, titled Pictures of Assholes, Gordon-Levitt confronts the men, one of whom says they were being pursued because “We saw a young star with another guy, and it's implied that there's something going on.”

“I don't know, the whole gay thing – it intrigues people. I've always thought you were cute,” the younger photographer says.

In the footage – as it is presented – Gordon-Levitt does not refute the suggestion that his male friend is his boyfriend. (The video is embedded on this page. Visit our video library for more videos.)

He was asked why he kept quiet in a cover interview with gay glossy Out.

“That would be really tacky – they would win If I had to clarify,” Gordon-Levitt said.