Noah Schnapp Says Press ‘Would Pry’ and Ask ‘Are You Gay?’ When He Was 13 Years Old at ‘Stranger Things’ Junkets: ‘I Didn’t Know What to Say’

Noah Schnapp joined his “Stranger Things” co-stars on the cover of Time magazine and recalled journalists prying for information about his sexuality during press junkets when he was just a young teenager. Schnapp publicly came out as gay in January 2023 at 18 years old. Public scrutiny around his sexuality had persisted for years, especially as “Stranger Things” worked towards his character, Will Byers, coming out as gay on the show.

“When I was younger, I was obviously very scared of talking about it,” Schapp told the publication. “They would pry and ask me, ‘Is he gay? Are you gay?’ I was 12, 13. I didn’t know what to say.”

Schnapp confirmed in a July 2022 interview with Variety that Will Byers was gay. “Stranger Things 4” was dominating the Netflix charts at the time, and the series had put Will’s sexuality front and center. When the actor publicly came out in a social media post months later,…