This also just wasn’t an instance of queerbaiting. There was no hinting at a fictitious same-sex relationship just enough to attract a queer audience while not offending straight people (the definition of queerbaiting). He plays a bi character in a same-sex relationship and made no secret that he as a real person did not want to publicly identify his sexuality, at least not yet. The claim was queerbaiting, but I think it’s nothing but celebrity gossip instincts wrapped up in a garb of respectable academic discourse.