Actor Kalama Epstein, who plays a gay teen on Freeform's The Fosters, recently told gay glossy Out that he won't publicly discuss his sexuality.

On the show, Epstein, 16, plays Noah, the new love interest for Jude (played by Hayden Byerly). Noah and Jude met at a church youth group and Noah's family and church accept that he's out.

Epstein told Out that he's received “a lot of messages from kids saying they've never seen this before, and this character is really helping them. Which is very heartwarming and incredible.”

“[T]he world has definitely gotten more supportive [of the LGBT community],” he said. “There are still bigots out there, but just in general—the sad thing is terrible words still get thrown around like they're nothing, which is hard, and gross. But definitely in general support for the LGBT community has grown immensely in past years. I think everyone has gotten a little more accepting.”

Asked about his own sexuality, Epstein refused to answer.

“As of right now, I’m keeping my sexuality private,” he said. “Just because of the fact that there are so many reactions. No matter what I say, there’s going to be a big reaction online, so I’ve decided to keep it private as of right now.”

(Related: Jack Falahee “fascinated” people want to know whether he's gay.)