Noah Schnapp, a young actor on Stranger Things, recently revealed that he is gay. The actor, who plays Will Byers in the popular Netflix series, announced the news on Thursday via social media.
“I guess I’m more similar to [Will] than I thought,” he said in the caption.
In the video, Schnapp lip-syncs to audio saying, “You know what it never was? That serious. Quite frankly, it will never be that serious.”
The text above the video reads, “When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years and all they said was ‘we know.'”
Schnapp’s announcement received a lot of support and love from her social media followers. Many credit him for living his truth and being a role model for LGBTQ+ youth.
This isn’t the first time Schnapp has used his platform to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. In June, he participated in the Black Lives Matter protests in Los Angeles and expressed his support for the community on social media.
Schnapp’s coming out continues a pattern in which well-known celebrities use their platforms to discuss the experiences of LGBTQ people and to advance acceptance and understanding.
Other celebrities that have come out in recent years include Sam Smith, Ezra Miller, and Amandla Stenberg.
It is obvious that Schnapp’s announcement will be well received by his followers and that he will continue to have a positive influence on the LGBTQ community. He encourages others to do the same by living his truth.
Will’s Secret
Last summer, Schnapp admitted that Will was gay. He also revealed that Will may be in love with his best friend Mike, played by Finn Wolfhard.
This revelation came after seasons’ worth of hints and teases, such as a season 3 episode in which Mike yelled at Will, “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” following a heated Dungeons & Dragons session.
“Obviously, it was hinted at in season 1,” Schnapp said in an interview with Variety in July, following the second volume of season 4’s release.
“It was always kind of there, but you never really knew: is it just him growing up slower than his friends? Now that he’s gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing. Now it’s 100 percent clear that he is gay and he does love Mike. But before, it was a slow arc.”
Stranger Things director and executive producer Shawn Levy previously told EW that the season 3 scene in which Mike yells at Will, “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” was not specific to sexual orientation.
“There aren’t many accidents on Stranger Things. There is clear intention and strategy and real thought given to each and every character. So if you came away from [season 4, volume 1] feeling those breadcrumbs of plot and character, it’s probably no accident,” he said.
In previous interviews, Schnapp did not give a clear answer about the sexuality of his character Will Byers on Stranger Things, saying that it was open to interpretation.
“I think that’s the beauty of it, that it’s just up to the audience’s interpretation,” he shared to Variety in May. “If it’s Will kind of just refusing to grow up and growing up slower than his friends, or if he is really gay.”Read More
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Source: Entertainment Monthly News