Noah Schnapp nearly broke TikTok when he came out as gay on the platform on Thursday evening. The TikTok video in which the Stranger Things star came out has been viewed over 46 million times so far.
The 18-year-old actor filmed the video while lying in bed in a grey hoodie. In the text over the video, Schnapp revealed that he had been “scared in the closet for 18 years.”
However, once he built up the courage to come out to his friends and family, their reaction was to simply say, “We know.” His friends and family had already known and had been loving and supporting him the whole time until he was ready to tell them.
In the video, Schnapp mouthed the words of a sound bite, saying, “You know what it never was? That serious. It was never that serious. Quite frankly, it will never be that serious.”
Schnapp also referenced his Stranger Things character, Will Byers, in the TikTok’s caption. He wrote, “I guess I’m more similar to will (sic) than I thought.”
Last year, Schnapp confirmed that his character, Will, is gay in Stranger Things and loves his best friend Mike (Finn Wolfhard).
Noah Schnapp received lots of support after coming out
While Schnapp doesn’t think it’s “that serious,” social media users thought differently as his TikTok quickly went viral. So far, it has racked up nearly 10 million likes and hundreds of thousands of comments.
Fortunately, the vast majority of comments were filled with love and support for Schnapp. Many of them expressed that they were proud of him for coming out and that he found a brilliant way to do so with his TikTok and caption.
The comments section also captured a sweet brother/sister moment between Schnapp and his twin sister Chloe. Chloe left a comment of support calling Schnapp “amazing,” and Schnapp replied, “Love you so much.”
The actor also had a few celebrities and influencers comment on his TikTok in support of him. Beauty influencer Amanda Diaz, filmmaker Cole Walliser, and YouTuber Blake Grey were just some of the influencers who reacted to his TikTok.
Musician Miki Ratsula also took to the comments to call Schnapp an “Icon.” Then, of course, there were eons of fan comments welcoming Schnapp to the LGBTQ+ community or expressing their love, support, or shock over the news.
Schnapp’s friends, family, and fans all showed up to support the actor, which was especially heartwarming given he had some reservations about coming out.
Schnapp is a rising TikTok creator
While Schnapp is most well-known for starring as Will in Stranger Things, he has been gaining a lot of attention on TikTok. Given that he boasts a staggering 31.8 million followers on the platform, it wasn’t surprising he chose that medium to come out.
He has gone viral before, such as in a now-deleted TikTok where he and his family reacted to him getting into the University of Pennsylvania. However, all of his videos routinely rack up tens of millions of views.
Schnapp has largely used the platform to partake in major trends or to share tidbits of his personal life with his fans. He recently shared a montage of his best moments from 2022 which included his college acceptance, interviews with Millie Bobby Brown, and hangouts with his friends.
He also used TikTok to share the hilarious antics that go on behind-the-scenes on the set of Stranger Things, such as water balloon fights and pranks.
He also isn’t afraid to poke fun at himself on the platform, such as sharing his hilarious awkward middle school snapshots from 2016.
Whether he is away at college or filming Stranger Things, his TikTok account has provided a nice medium for his enormous fan base to keep up with him.