“Stranger Things” star Noah Schnapp came out as gay in a TikTok video on Thursday afternoon and was already joking about the reaction with his friends later that night.
In a TikTok shared by “Katie” (@meltyiceycubey), a group of teenagers parodies the reaction to the news. Staged in the same style as the winter trend of people telling their loved ones a fake news story about a celebrity dying, one boy is looking at his phone and then yells, “Oh my god, guys, guys, guys!” quieting everyone.
“Noah Schnapp gay at 18!” the teen says.
The group exclaims in shock as the camera pans around the room and lands on Schnapp himself as he yells “Oh my god!” in faux-surprise.
The parody video has 2.9 million views (and counting) as of Friday morning.
“Nothing prepared me for noah actually being there,” one TikToker wrote in a comment that was favorited by 68,000 other people.
Some commenters noticed how the video leveraged the social media app’s “fake celebrity death news” trend.
“R.I.P legend ?❤️??” one top-liked comment says.
“Crying rn?️? ” says another.
Schnapp has been a superstar on TikTok since its pre-pandemic days. Whether performing dance trends with Netflix costar Millie Bobby Brown or appearing in his coworkers’ videos while he worked a summer job, Schnapp’s engagement with fans on TikTok has been a big part of his young career.
Last year, Schnapp told Insider that jokes about his own “Stranger Things” character sometimes make their way to his own TikTok For You page.
His starring role in the Netflix hit will end soon with “Stranger Things” season five, the final installment in the sci-fi epic. A major unresolved storyline for Schnapp’s character Will Byers involves him being unprepared to come out as gay to his friends or family.
In Schnapp’s coming-out post on TikTok, he wrote: “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 captioned the post, “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.”
“Stranger Things” is currently in pre-production for season five, which means fans will have to wait a while longer before seeing how Will’s story ends.
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