Noah Schnapp, one of the young stars on Netflix's hit series "Stranger Things," came out on to the internet Thursday using a TikTok trend.
Schnapp, 18, posted a video to his verified account featuring popular audio where people describe big life events that weren't "that serious." In his, he wrote about coming out as gay to his family.
"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 wrote in the video.
Schnapp plays Will Byers on the series, one of the main characters in an ensemble of kids who fight supernatural creatures in the 1980s.
During the series' most recent season, fans speculated that Will's character was closeted because he appeared to be in love with his best friend, Mike Wheeler. Schnapp confirmed the fan theory in an interview with Variety in July.
He told the outlet that writers began hinting at Will's sexuality in the first season.
"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 said. "But before, it was a slow arc. I think it is done so beautifully, because it’s so easy to make a character just like all of a sudden be gay."
Schnapp referenced his character in his coming out, writing in the TikTok caption that he was "more similar to Will" than he thought.
Fans offered an outpouring of support on TikTok and other social media platforms, offering words of praise and love.
"this is an amazing come out video," one user wrote.
Chris Olsen, a popular content creator who is openly gay, commented "welcome king."
