‘Stranger Things’ Noah Schnapp Clarifies Controversial Comments

ByAllie Johnson
Noah Schnapp appears in 'Stranger Things' | Courtesy of Nextflix

Noah Schnapp, best known for his role as Will on Stranger Things, has released a video attempting to clarify his controversial comments.

The 19-year-old actor came under fire in November 2023 when he was filmed alongside friends while holding “Zionism is sexy” and “Hamas is ISIS” stickers. A month earlier, Schnapp addressed the October 7 attack by Hamas which left over 1,000 people dead.

The actor released a statement in a now-deleted Instagram post. “I hope we can agree that Hamas are a recognized terrorist organization: they don’t represent the Palestinian people when they value murdering Israelis more than protecting their own,” Schnapp wrote in October. “You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism. It shouldn’t be a difficult choice. Shame on you.”

Noah Schnapp Clarifies His Controversial Comments

Following his controversial comments, Schnapp has remained silent. On January 15, the actor broke that silence in a TikTok in an attempt to clear the air. “I feel like my thoughts and beliefs have been so far misconstrued from anything even close to what I believe, and I wanted to just state from my heart how I feel,” Schnapp began. “I only want peace and safety and security for all innocent people affected by this conflict.”

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♬ original sound – Noah Schnapp

Schnapp says that following his controversy, he’s been engaged in productive conversations with those from every viewpoint. “I’ve had many open discussions with friends from Palestinian background, and I think those are very important conversations to have and I’ve learned a lot,” the actor said.

“One of the takeaways I’ve had is that we all hope for the same things, that being those innocent people still being held hostage in Gaza to be returned to their families, and equally hope for an end to the loss of innocent life in Palestine—so many of those people being women and children, and it’s horrible to see.”

Noah Schnapp Still Faces Backlash From Fans

Directly following the release of the controversial video, Noah Schnapp was met with backlash from fans. Many accused the actor of supporting genocide. In one Reddit post regarding his original video, many users called for Schnapp to lose his job on Stranger Things.

One user angrily commented on Schnapp’s behavior. “He better stay jobless after this stunt. Better yet, get locked in a house full of history books that are critical of Zionism, and with loops of Al Jazeera coverage of this war playing nonf***ing stop,” they wrote.

A second Reddit user also called for Schanpp’s career to come to an end following his video. “When I saw this on Twitter I was literally rendered speechless. I have no words,” wrote the user. “This is heinous. I genuinely hope his career fizzles out and dies after ST ends.”

Despite the calls for his job, a third user hoped that Schnapp could learn from his experience. “I hope he’s appropriately mortified about this one day and has the wherewithal to try and make up for it once he’s grown the f*** up,” the user wrote.

Do you think that Noah Schnapp should be let go from Stranger Things for his controversial comments? Let us know your opinion in the comments section.

 

Allie Johnson
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