Teenage star Noah Schnapp came out in a TikTok video shared on Thursday, January 5, 2023, with the message:"When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years all they said was 'we know.'"Schnapp is best known for playing the character of Will Byers on the Netflix sci-fi horror series Stranger Things. In the video, the actor wrote that he is more similar to Will than he had previously thought. It was widely speculated by fans that Will's character was gay and harbored feelings for his best friend Mike. This theory was confirmed subtextually in the most recent season and in separate interviews by the actor and creators, the Duffer Brothers, in July 2022.As soon as the news hit social media, netizens immediately took to Twitter to express their surprise as well as delight, with the hashtags #NoahSchnappCameOut and #NoahSchnapp soon trending. One user @llandrykonan commented:landry@llandrykonannoah schnapp coming out as gay is a great way to start 2023noah schnapp coming out as gay is a great way to start 2023"Was not on my 2023 bingo card but what a win": Netizens tweet in support of Noah SchnappTwitterati was thrilled about Noah Schnapp's TikTok and they congratulated the actor for the same. Many commended Noah for "feeling comfortable enough to share" the news with everyone and were happy that he could share the news "on his own terms."Others brought up the 18-year-old actor's love for Will Byers and expressed their pride at Noah playing a gay character and being able to bring out the nuances needed for the role. Some felt hopeful for the future to see someone on the "biggest TV show" being able to come out.A Twitter user, @airsadie, called him "iconic," stating:katie@airsadienoah schnapp a gay icon playing one of the most iconic gay characters of all time we love to see it286noah schnapp a gay icon playing one of the most iconic gay characters of all time we love to see itHere are some more comments seen on Twitter reacting to the news:kairos 🫧@kairospyNoah schnapp coming out as gay was not on my 2023 bingo card but what a win. What A Win lads341Noah schnapp coming out as gay was not on my 2023 bingo card but what a win. What A Win ladsele ☽ ⋆⁺₊⋆ | 29@eleariartthe fact that someone as famous as noah schnapp felt comfortable enough to come out to us as gay means so so much to me like he trusted us enough to tell us something so personal18917the fact that someone as famous as noah schnapp felt comfortable enough to come out to us as gay means so so much to me like he trusted us enough to tell us something so personalluca@cisnisterNOAH SCHNAPP GAY LETS GOOOOOOOOOO I LOVE THAT FOR HIM341NOAH SCHNAPP GAY LETS GOOOOOOOOOO I LOVE THAT FOR HIMPizza | Moon🎗🍇@WashedPizzaWAIT Noah Schnapp came out as gay? I'm so happy for him dude! It must've been at least a little stressful because of his incredibly large audience, but I'm so glad he got to share these news on his own terms.I hope he has a great day bc the dude deserves it! :D83WAIT Noah Schnapp came out as gay? I'm so happy for him dude! It must've been at least a little stressful because of his incredibly large audience, but I'm so glad he got to share these news on his own terms.I hope he has a great day bc the dude deserves it! :Dmyaaaa ☁️@croutoncrownnoah schnapp coming out and playing a gay character makes me feel so happy. especially with the way he talks and cares about will too. i truly love him and am so proud of him.21450noah schnapp coming out and playing a gay character makes me feel so happy. especially with the way he talks and cares about will too. i truly love him and am so proud of him.ess@peachybazi’m actually really really glad noah schnapp felt comfortable coming out .. like a gay kid playing a gay kid on one of the biggest tv shows currently in existence and being able to come out really gives me hope112i’m actually really really glad noah schnapp felt comfortable coming out .. like a gay kid playing a gay kid on one of the biggest tv shows currently in existence and being able to come out really gives me hopeLauren✜⁷@cutesopenoah schnapp being gay makes so much sense because a straight person would never have been able to film this scene as well as he did6820665noah schnapp being gay makes so much sense because a straight person would never have been able to film this scene as well as he did https://t.co/smDHwpKiVfblue@thehornsectionsnoah schnapp coming out as gay like damn will byers really is just an extension of him13noah schnapp coming out as gay like damn will byers really is just an extension of himHowever, a few comments brought up a poor running gag within the fandom that Noah Schnapp's Stranger Things co-star, Millie Bobby Brown, is homophobic. But these users were soon criticized, stating "the joke was never funny."Here are some comments criticizing the users:kayla@bIondcdnoah schnapp comes out as gay and here come all the annoying mfs who wont let go of the unfunny millie homophobia “joke”233noah schnapp comes out as gay and here come all the annoying mfs who wont let go of the unfunny millie homophobia “joke”amy@maximoffoIogyit's 2023 and people are STILL making millie bobby brown homophobic jokes in response to noah schnapp coming out as gay. like,,, do you guys EVER get tired? it was never even funny in the first place but anyway 412it's 2023 and people are STILL making millie bobby brown homophobic jokes in response to noah schnapp coming out as gay. like,,, do you guys EVER get tired? it was never even funny in the first place but anyway 😭What did Noah say about Will Byers?Following the release of the penultimate two episodes of Stranger Things season 4, Schnapp, in an interview with Variety, confirmed that Will's character is gay and in love with his best friend, Mike, played by Finn Wolfhard. He stated:"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% clear that he is gay and he does love Mike."Schnapp (right) with Gaten Matarazzo (left) and Finn Wolfhard (center) (Image via Getty Images)Will's sexuality has been questioned by fans since season 1 but Noah as well as the creators deflected from giving a straight answer. Following the release of part one of season 4 and prior to his interview with Variety, the actor stated that it was open to the audience's interpretation. Noah asserted that he did not want to spoil the reveal for the final two episodes.The creators and Netflix announced that Stranger Things would conclude after season 5, which would focus on Will Byers. However, it is yet to start production.