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.)