Confusion Over Whether Chris Colfer is Gay or Not

Last October, The Advocate posted an interview with Chris Colfer in which they said Colfer was gay and out. This was the email they sent to me and presumably other media outlets:

This is Chris Colfer's first interview with the gay press. He's gay, talks about how he couldn't come out in high school because people in his town get killed for that. Really smart, fun interview.

It wasn't actually Chris' first interview with the gay press (we had already briefly chatted with him) but the interview included the following exchange:

Lesley Goldberg: Were you out in high school?
Chris Colfer: Oh, no. People are killed in my hometown for that.

Personally, my next question would've been to clarify that Colfer was indeed saying he was gay, but Goldberg and The Advocate seemed certain enough of what Chris was saying that they not only ran the interview that way, but pitched it as Chris talking about being gay. 

Maybe. Maybe not. Today USA Today has an interview up with the following passage:

"Playing an openly gay kid means fielding questions about his own sexuality, which Colfer doesn't address. 'I try to keep up a mystery. As much as I give away of my personal life, the less people will believe me as other characters. I try to be private about it. It is what it is,' Colfer says with a shrug."

This prompted a number of blogs to wonder if Colfer was now back in the closet and even The Advocate posted a follow-up. They also cite an interview Colfer gave to Access Hollywood a while ago where he seems to be comparing his own coming out to that of Kurt's on Glee. 

So is Colfer in or out? Gay or straight?

I don't know and I don't intend to ask. As I recently explained in my column on outing, I don't ask actors under age twenty one about their sexuality because putting that much pressure on someone so young — someone who might very well not have yet dealt with their sexuality — is out-of-bounds for me. That's why I didn't ask Chris when I chatted with him at the TCA, and the only reason I'm writing about it here is because we previously reported he was out due to The Advocate's interview.

If Chris is in fact gay, I'm sure he'll let us know when he's ready. And if I talk to him after he turns twenty-one, I'll see if he's willing to talk about it then. Until that time, I hope those folks who have posted some very unpleasant comments on other sites, will zip it and cut the kid some slack.