Stranger Things’ Noah Schnapp comes out as gay
Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers on Netflix's Stranger Things, came out as gay in a TikTok post
Aux News Stranger Things
Noah Schnapp, the 18-year-old actor who plays Will Byers in Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things, has come out as gay. Schnapp’s experience echoes that of his famous character, as it became clear in the most recent season that Will had feelings for his best friend, Mike (Finn Wolfhard). Schnapp pointed out as much in his social media coming out post, writing in the caption, “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.”
As for how Schnapp came out to the public, well, he did so in about the most Gen Z fashion possible: lip-syncing over a popular audio on TikTok. “You know what it never was? That serious. It was never that serious. Quite frankly, will never be that serious,” the audio of a female voice says. The text over top his lip sync reads, “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’”.
https://www.tiktok.com/@southernbelleinsults/video/7185289110133820715
Schnapp’s announcement was met with an outpouring of love from fans, celebrities, and influencers, like TikToker Chris Olsen, Too Hot To Handle’s Harry Jowsey, and Glee’s Kevin McHale. The official account for the TikTok app itself even weighed in, calling Schnapp “our king.” Schnapp “liked” a comment from Stranger Things co-star Gabriella Pizzolo who wrote, “SO proud of you!!” He also received support from his twin sister, Chloe Schnapp, who wrote, “u r amazing.” “Love you so much,” the young actor replied.
Schnapp, who currently attends the University of Pennsylvania, played coy about Will’s sexuality on Stranger Things leading up to the second part of the fourth season. When fans accused the show of queerbaiting after the character’s subtle coming out, he reassured them that it was “100% clear that [Will] is gay.”
In a July Variety interview, he shared how much of an impact the character “People have come up to me—I was just in Paris and this, like, 40-year-old man came up to me and he was like, ‘Wow, this Will character made me feel so good. And I related to it so much. That is exactly who I was when I was a kid.’ That just made me so happy to hear. They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle and they’re doing it so well.”
139 Comments
“Riiight!”
Ok.
I know some people are going “why is this news”, but in a sense, it’s nice that the general attitude can be: “This is no big deal, but hey, good on ya for knowing yourself!”
There’ll still be viciousness directed at him, I’d bet… unfortunately.
I’m here to keep the homos on their toes. It’s actually a valuable service that keeps them relevant if you think about it. What with the trans stealing the limelight. Yet I never get any gratitude
I am kind of in the “why is this news?” camp, but only for the fact that I thought he has come out earlier this year after all the talk about his character in ST. I saw this and was like “Didn’t he talk about this before already?” But yeah, no big deal and it he is happy, that is all that matters.
Please please dismiss Rock Hard every chance you get.
To the surprise of literally no one.
Yeah, as long as the kid ain’t into gerbilling, he’s cool with me.
aw, that’s real swell of ya!
Didn’t you read the article? He is into gerbilling
You joke about it, but they DUCT TAPE us first before letting us loose back there.
I wonder if the Duffer Brothers have known this whole time.
NOBODY knows what The Duffers know!
Well, they were casting a role that was conceived as “a sweet, sensitive kid with sexual identity issues,” so it’s likely they were looking for someone who a) would be cool with playing a gay character (and whose parents/managers/etc. would be cool with it) and b) would give a performance that read as possibly gay (probably without asking him to play gay in any particular way, as that would be unlikely to produce good results from a child actor). Those two criteria would substantially increase the chances that they’d end up casting a kid who later came out as gay.
it’s been a while since i watched it, but in the 1st season I don’t think Will really had any sexual identity issues to speak of, because he was too busy seeing Upside-Down shit everywhere
“A sweet, sensitive kid with sexual identity issues” is a direct quote from the pitch packet for the series, which predates both season 1 and Schnapp’s casting. The character was always intended to be queer, which even season 1 references with things like the homophobic bullying directed at the character (and his own mother’s refusal to confirm or deny whether it’s accurate), and the subtext of Jonathan’s brotherly advice to Will in an early flashback: “You shouldn’t like things because people tell you you’re supposed to.”And if S1 didn’t have a lot of overtly queer moments for Will, that would only make it more likely that they would’ve cast the role based on ineffable “Does this performance read as possibly gay?” vibes that might’ve unintentionally selected for an actor with the same sexuality as the character.
homophobic bullying directed at the character (and his own mother’s refusal to confirm or deny whether it’s accurate)I still vividly remember the conversation with Hopper and Joyce when Will first went missing (before the panic set in and they realized he was missing-missing) in episode 1. After discussing how he wasn’t like others and was “sensitive”:Joyce: “Ronnie used to say he was queer, called him a fag.”Hopper: “….is he?”Joyce: “He’s missing is what he is.”It was much the same experience/attitude in my own youth a decade and some change later, so that stuck with me.
Will: “Wait…do I have a crush on a boy?”Slimy Fanged Monster: “I WANT TO DEVOUR YOUR FAMILY AND LAY EGGS IN YOUR SKIN!”Will: “Oh shit, yeah, ok gotta deal with that first”
Waaaaaay back in the very first episode his mom mentions to the sheriff that the other kids call him a f**.
From that picture, I thought he was coming out as the lovechild of Harry Potter and Tobey Maguire.
Someone is gay? In 2023? THIS IS NEWS PEOPLE!!!!!
As a gay person who’s witnessing firsthand the backsliding into anti-gay laws, widespread accusations of child abuse and “grooming,” among the LGBTQ+ community by mainstream political leaders like my own governor (hello, Florida), bricks being thrown through gay club windows, and protestors with guns showing up to drag shows, yes – yes, it is a big deal. Every little bit of visibility is important, and dangerous, and necessary. Also, this is an entertainment website, not the business section of the Wall Street Journal, so articles about actors and their lives are sort of one of the things they do here.
Sorry if this response makes me seem a little… on edge? Just as someone who came of age in the 90s and thought we had moved past these struggles (like you still think we have!), the current state of things in this country with regards to my and my family’s safety is alarming and disappointing.
I doubt a gay actor is going to stop the grooming allegations from right wing nut jobs. If you are really worried about your rights then I’d look at the political party that is supposed to protect you and wonder about how much they actually care about you. What are the Democrats doing to stop DeSantis’s bigotry? Are they investigating him for obvious corruption? Is he under arrest for the political stunt where he kidnapped immigrants? Is Pete Buttigieg fighting hard to win over new voters as the most powerful openly gay man in US political history? Or is he acting like a corrupt piece of shit and letting the airline company abuse passengers and get away with crimes?
As another gay person, maybe we can care about all those issues and find it newsworthy that a prominent 18-year old actor is comfortable enough with his sexuality to come out publicly.
But gay people don’t care about those issues. That’s why Ron DeSantis is a free man.
It takes a special kind of terrible to use an article about an 18 year old coming out as a stepping stone for your right-wing/anti-Dem screeching.Can someone remind me why this site doesn’t seem to have any actual moderation? Or why it doesn’t do anything about obvious trolls?
Does it make you mad? Does it make you mean mad?
It would be in Palestine, Knobby. Luckily those camel humpers are under the boot
Only the most original, freshest takes from Bobby Peru.
An an ACTOR no less!
“People are using air to breathe”
I’ve actually been really happy with how ST has handled Will’s sexuality As someone only a little younger than his character (like, if Will were a real person he’d be a little older than me today) – I think Gen Z doesn’t understand what it was like being gay as a kid in the 80s/90s. There was no “Heartstopper” or even “Glee” – in my state, GSA clubs were literally banned. It wasn’t just “harder” to come out in high school, it just wasn’t even an option you considered, even in your own head. Gay people were invisible. Will might not even be fully out to himself – he knows he has some sort of crush on Mike but would never use the “g” word (or, given the time period more likely the “f” word) for himself, even in his head. It feels realistic and Noah portrays it well (turns out he has experience! ) Also the show is not about that (it’s about extradimensional monsters!), and the writers know not to force it as an unearned subplot – it’s just a nice bit of additional character color.
Agreed. In terms of the show itself, I’ve always appreciated the subtlety, but with Schnapp’s coming-out it’s also clear that it was the right decision in terms of protecting the actor from really inappropriate personal scrutiny. If Will’s sexuality had been obvious the whole time, and he’d been forced to respond to “Oooh, what’s it like for you to play a gay character?” questions from insensitive reporters and bigoted and/or entitled fans from the age of ten, I could easily imagine him getting boxed into outing himself before he was ready like Kit Connor of Heartstopper—or being forced deeper into the closet.
it was the right decision in terms of protecting the actor from really inappropriate personal scrutinyThat was pretty much the reason why the single angriest I’ve ever been at any article on all the affiliated websites was 6 years back when io9 published a piece after S1 cheering on the whole ‘OMG, Will really has to be gay!!!’ internet mob that had gotten so loud that it had outright forced Noah Schnapp to say something publicly about what he thought about the character.Now that he’s grown up, no biggie, and more power to him for coming out at a time of his choosing, willingly, and even laughing a little bit at the character-actor link. But he was a 12 year old at the time, and my immediate reaction was wondering how so many had so little concern about screaming so loudly that they’d insisted a pre-teen kid take part in that debate. It was just wrong on all sorts of levels, including the possibility that you bring up – talking about himself in relation to the character was clearly one of the next steps that was about to be demanded of him if it had been more overtly developed.The Duffer Brothers have handled this arc very well along with that of Hawke’s character; my personal hope is that if they want to keep it consistent and thought provoking is to have Will come out – but have him rejected in a way that still somehow maintains the friendships. That still probably wouldn’t have happened in the 80s, but it’s a lot more realistic than the alternatives.
That’s so gay
Which makes the (now SO tiresome) queerbaiting charges all the more ridiculous. Sorry they didn’t force a 17 year-old actor and character to be a drag performer in order to satisfy your need for unequivocal confirmation. How many gay men leap from the womb announcing their sexuality? I have to think this is a far more accurate depiction of a young gay man sorting things out.
People who didn’t live through that time don’t realize how terrifying it could be for a kid who MIGHT be gay. To even be perceived as gay was social suicide at that age. As someone who grew up in those times with no interest in sports and a deep love of The Cure, I was called the “f-word” and its various iterations almost daily. Will silently nursing his crush is VERY realistic.
even as a 90s bb queer, it wasn’t just social suicide, it really drove this deep desire to die by suicide too. Having that ingrained as a child persists.I still think coming out is hard to this day, but I also feel Queer youth seem to accept it quicker themselves even if those around them don’t accept it, which seems mildly better.
Right, well put, at least they have more context and vocabulary and role models both in media and likely a few other people in their school/family.It’s rarely easy, and homophobic abuse still widely exists, but it makes a big difference to at least be able to understand and accept yourself internally.
Yes, in a lot of cases is was actual suicide, or beatings, or murder. Sadly, it still is, though it’s gotten MUCH better (even though it seems to be getting worse). People below are commenting “why is this news?” or “why do we care?” and it’s precisely because society needs to keep seeing people come out so that it becomes even more acceptable. I LONG for the day when nobody cares who is attracted to whom, but to a large segment of the population, that shit still matters.
Homos today dont know how tough you old school homos had it back in the day. They should get on their knees and show you some respeck
I’m 32 years old, I remember this. I actually got thrown in a dumpster in grade school because I’ve always been a flamboyant person but the way gayness was treated on the schoolyard was essentially if you were suspected of being gay you were a target for physical abuse. Speaking as a man, it was baked into my mind through the schoolyard that being a homosexual was the most shameful thing a man could be. I’m Italian too and it was just so hammered in through my uncles and stuff that homosexuality was the most shameful thing.
So when I think about the gay people in my life and how many of them there are and I think back to my childhood it’s odd because of the two grade schools I attended in rural Ontario communities there was “no gay people” but yes of course there were gay people there but they knew to stay invisible or be beaten. Fuck the 90s sucked.
I saw a movie called Mambo Italiano when I was a kid and in that film there’s an image of a young boy being duct taped to the school lockers with the word “fag” written on the duct tape. That rang preeeeetty true.
Speaking of gays being invisible, and about a totally different show, there was some recent titter about Outlander and how there seems to never be any gay people, except for Lord John. The show is through Claire’s eyes. If she didn’t see a gay person, then she didn’t see it. The only reason she knows that John is, is because Jaime told her. Being gay back then was a death sentence, so you’re not going to see out gays anywhere.
Damn, that takes me back to the early 90’s where there was only one openly gay kid in my entire grade in high school. We were actually pretty chummy but I remember always feeling self conscious about being friends with the gay kid. Especially after seeing how he would constantly get bullied.
Why is this news?
It’s not. I think it’s just an opportunity for us all to pat his ass and say “You’re so brave.”
Wow, already working hard on earning that “2023 Award for Biggest Piece of Shit Commenter”. Way to get a head start. (And congrats on your 2022 win!)
Eat my ten year old pussy.
wut
It would appear that he is inviting you to perform oral sex on his 10 year old pussy, which would imply that he is a trans minor. Or he got his puss surgically attached a decade ago. Either way, the pussy is in your court.
Very mature, but also wtf. Why was comeback specifically a “10 year old” pussy? Should you be put on a list (if you’re not already)?
I have an elderly cat.Dick.
Can you take your tedious attempts at comedy somewhere else please?
Right after you take your tired tries at tut-tuttery somewhere else.
Can you kindly try seriously fucking the fuck off then, please?
KCS is one of the few holdouts from when this place used to be awesome. Show them some goddamn respect.
I hate him so much.
The funny thing is he leaves like 12 comments on every single post and they’re all stupid and annoying
That dude won the prestigious title of 2022’s Biggest Piece of Shit Commenter? That guy? Why wasn’t I even nominated? Who are the judges?
I was robbed! Stop the steal!
Honestly, how do you and your upvoters not know Kinja Caffeine Spider as the joke bot here. They’re obviously making fun of the OP.
You may not like the jokes, but taking them seriously is just moronic.
Lolwhat
It’s brave as hell. As a hetero, I don’t envy people who have to face doing it just so they can be themselves.
Because they’re famous and well-liked and you’re an unlikeable nobody whose life peaked asking this insipid question on the internet.
Dont be homophobic. Show some respeck. Schnapp is a British cigarette now.
Fuck you.
IS THERE NOTHING SACRED??
Just regular old gay? How quaint!
Great.
Now tell them you’re not doing the next season until Will gets a decent haircut.
Seriously, a bowl cut of that thickened goofiness is a travesty on a melon not matter which side of the door you swing on. Even Anton Chigurh would be like ‘Dude, heres 50 bucks, got get a proper barber.’
As long as he doesn’t pull out a quarter…
Don’t worry – the next series has them edging closer to the late-80s. Which means, hopefully, at least one of the guys (please be Steve, please be Steve) will go the Full George Michael…
He reminded me of Stewart from Mad TV.
Probably spends more time face down
That kind of haircut was very late 70s/early 80s.
Good on him.Although he will look back on this day when he’s old and say “God, remember when everyone was doing that lip sync thing”
Good for him but I am still surprised that an 18 year old in 2023 working in Hollywood would be scared to come out to his friends and family. I guess its an experience I have never had to go through but it just seems like these days being gay is no big deal in that sorta of group. Unless he has some strangely right wing religious family I do not know about
Unless you’re very, very outspoken, it’s hard to gauge how much other people know/assume about your sexuality and what their reaction will be, even from supposedly “progressive” people.It’s also not something you can take back. Schnapp is a rising star in Hollywood—this can affect his ability to book roles in movies or shows that are expected to release in, say, less accepting markets.
I agree that casting agents may make future calls taking this into account, but doubt audiences will make a go/no go decision based on it.
(let me preface this by saying sorry for the word vomit; this is more aimed at anyone else reading this who may have a similar experience than it is at rebutting anything you said in particular. Plus, hey, a distraction from work) Even if you’re fortunate enough to live somewhere where people aren’t openly hostile to your very existence upon coming out, it’s still an incredibly difficult and nerve-wracking thing to do. It’s still the exception rather than the rule that you’re going to be accepted unconditionally, so who you come out to and when is still a very intense, personal decision that most grapple with heavily. Sure, your parents say they’re supportive of LGBT rights and marriage equality, but how do you know that’s not something they display on the surface to not seem like assholes? You can still remember back to all the occasions when you were younger and all those older movies you watched with your friends and family had gay caricatures that made it obvious their identity expression was the butt of the joke. And what about your grandparents? Your parents are already from a different generation, but what about the really old folks in your life who may have some extremely antiquated ideologies? What about your friends and extended family? Oftentimes that right wing religiosity isn’t on ready display, and you may never know what they’re going to think or say about you until it’s in the moment. What about all the people in the restaurant you’re going to? Or the random people you encounter walking a city street and going about your business? Are they going to judge you for holding hands with your boyfriend, or possibly displaying greater signs of public affection? Sure, you can argue till your face turns purple that the opinions of strangers and people who are going to be against you anyway don’t matter, and I’d agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly, but knowing that and accepting it internally are two vastly different propositions, and the bottom line is that it’s terrifying. Nobody wants to be rejected for something that is completely outside of their control, not by strangers, and certainly not by someone they love. Doesn’t help that, for the last few hundred years, at least, coming out has also run the risk of making yourself the target of physical violence. I was 12 when Boys Don’t Cry came out, which, if you’ve never seen it, just give the synopsis a read and remind yourself it’s based on a true story. That’s the reality queer people have had to live in.For the average person, coming out is something they don’t do only once; it’s something they do again, and again, and again. And it doesn’t really get all that much easier with time, as there’s still a lot of hate in this world, and progress seems to be trending in the wrong direction thanks to the concerted efforts of right wingers wanting to have their culture war by using those in the community as their scapegoats. I think you absolutely have a point in that Noah’s probably in one of the best environments to come out in while being surrounded with support, but that inner turmoil and doubt is going to still be an enormous factor weighing on his or anyone else’s shoulders until they either gather enough courage, or else just get absolutely sick of hiding and say to hell with it and pull that trigger.
You’re right, it’s terrifying no matter what. I’m the mother of a trans child (female to male) and it’s terrifying even for me to stress about how certain people will react to finding out. Meaning i am terrified of my child having to endure negative responses. I don’t care what they think if they don’t like it, anyone who has a problem with it can bite me…. just worried about it impacting him. I support him completely but there are still a couple ppl who have yet to be told. Just hoping it goes well for my kid’s sake. It’s a huge part of his anxiety and depression and when ppl say “its a choice, just don’t be that way” …. it’s very intimidating to a teenager. Sorry for such a long comment
My partner is an ftm male, so I have at least a little insight into his perspective. It’s really not my place at all to speak on behalf of your son, but regardless, if I can be allowed the brief indulgence: thank you. Just know that you choosing to be supportive probably means more to your son than you can even imagine, as I’ve seen quite intimately what a lack of that support can do to a person. I know the support from my own parents during my own coming out made literally all the difference in allowing me to continue growing in a healthy direction. Just continue being strong for him and letting him know that he’s supported and validated as your child no matter what or who he presents as, and I have little doubt he’ll turn out okay in the end.
I don’t know what your screen name means, but i love it. Lol
Thanks lol. John Miller was one of Trump’s pseudonyms when he would call reporters in his earlier days and pretend to have “inside scoops” on himself in order to generate buzz and get his name in publications. At the same time that was being revealed, I saw that gif (with Trump looking very much like a microwaved testicle), and I thought it’d be amusing when signing up for a burner to lampoon that with a nod to Fight Club: “I Am Jack’s Medulla Oblongata/I Am Jill’s Nipple/I Am Jack’s Colon.” I Am John Miller’s Right Testicle.
He very likely just lost a bunch of potential roles by being publicly gay.
Yeah, there’s no homos in Hollywood. Anyway he could just transition to a woman. That way he could fuck dudes and stay straight
I don’t think it’s his family and friends he’s afraid of.
There probably are a lot of older producer/director/casting folks who are in their 50’s or 60’s who probably still call people f**s when they think no one is listening. I’m not saying it’s right, it’s just that was the era they grew up in.
Tell you what though, if I were to ever come out, I don’t think I’d want the response to be “Yeah, we know.” Damn. Just humor me a little.
I never understood people who say “we know.” Was he kissing guys? Are more flamboyant straight guys not a thing?
“Oh. Do we ALL know? Have I been the topic of a discussion that I’m not aware of?”
Yeah people saw you hiding in the closet a long time ago
It’s even worse when everyone knows you’re gay… but you’re not gay.
This cannot be a real question. Sweet Jesus.
It seems pretty homophobic. If you act/look/talk a certain way, you must be gay.
It’s true though.
You don’t need to be gay to have gaydar.
Well it usually matches, theres a reason its a stereotype.
lolwhat
I mean, there are plenty of studies done that have shown certain gay people do speak a certain way. It’s very obviously not close to all of them, but a lot do speak differently.
If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, and talks like a duck, then it probably is a homo
Yeah or maybe people who love their friends just care about them enough to notice how they’re relating to people? Homophobic my ass.
No, thats not a thing.
Yeah it is.
No, IN GENERAL, its really not. Of course theres exceptions to every rule, but in this case its such a tiny number its not even worth considering. Stop it, get real.
Huh? In a population of 8 billion, just statistically there are plenty of “more flamboyant straight guys” in the world.
It’s obviously impossible to know the exact number, and we haven’t defined what flamboyant means, and we haven’t discussed whether the guy is flamboyant all the time or just every now and then, but if we’re talking IN GENERAL then it’s reasonable to assume that with the variety of personalities in the world that more flamboyant straight guys are absolutely a real thing.
Maybe homos aren’t as mysterious as they think?
I dunno man. My best friend from ten years old is gay, and while his coming-out wasn’t framed as some shock announcement that he thought we’d all be totally blindsided by, it was certainly the case that those of us who had known him forever knew that he had always related to boys and girls differently to most of us. And not just in a hormonal teenage way either: I think I knew that he was gay before we knew what gay was, or before sex was on our horizon etc.
Or, to be both more and less specific: I think I knew he was ‘not straight’ before we knew what any of that was.
Indeed when he came out ‘officially’ (whatever that means) it was really more of a confirming-out: “yes, the situation is that I’m gay. That’s the specific kind of non-straight I am”, that kind of vibe. It felt like an afterthought even though it was really the first time we’d overtly discussed it: it was just something that was there in the background of both our understandings.
His parents knew, many of the other people who loved him knew, and the responses were variously “yeah I know” or “yeah that tracks” or “yeah I figured it was something like that”. There was nothing sinister or stereotyping about it. It is just something you notice if you love someone and are close to them, that socially they are approaching a lot of things a bit differently than the mainstream would prescribe, y’know?
I would stridently object to the suggestion that it is inherently homophobic (as one other commenter suggested) or based on flamboyant stereotypes or seeing him ‘kissing guys’ or anything – it had nothing to do with outward signifiers of same-sex attraction at all, or homosexual stereotypes or any of that shit which is none of my business (and which would also be a really unfair, mean and reductive way to frame the romantic relationships that this friend of mine has been involved in).
I love that man and I’d hope that most people who love their friends notice what kinds of relationships they form and don’t form over the years. When we all started to get girlfriends as teenagers but he didn’t, I just started to assume in a more defined way that he wasn’t attracted to women. It was born out of noticing that he was excluding himself from a lot of social stuff we did (which was, naturally, structured about trying to get near girls), and honestly being a bit sad that it might put distance between us.
When his parents said they knew he was gay, it was because they were, y’know, his parents and they’d spoken to him every day of his life for 19 years, not because they’d been looking at him over the years and tutting “ooh he seems a bit camp” or something weird like that.
C’mon. Your comment is a straw man, and this whole virtue-signally “i never understood that” vibe, it’s not true. Of course you can understand how a friend or a sibling or a parent might know somebody is gay. You just wanted to pretend that the only reason anyone says “we know” in response to a coming-out is because they’re relying on stereotypes, so you could admonish them for it. That’s just as shitty as the thing you’re calling out.
“I never understood people who say “we know.””Cool story. I do.Here’s a hint: most people aren’t Academy Award winning actors, and most people aren’t even decent liars.Here’s another thing: some people are empathetic, compassionate and pay enough attention to their loved ones that they can see what the person is feebly trying to hide.
My mom got horrified, then started to cry and then told me that I was doomed and little by little she started accepting it. I prefer “we know”. I wish I had that reaction at the time.
Or Marc Cherry’s mother’s response: “I’d love you even if you were a murderer.”
I got that reaction too and it was/is still kinda rough, but I also think “we knew already” is an annoyingly smug response.
After I came out, my mom told my aunt that I was gay, and her reaction was, “what? He’s been out for years!”RIP, Shirl.
It can be homophobic (“oh, we know you’re gay, we’ve seen your music collection”), but family and close friends tend to notice a lot and teenagers aren’t as sly as they think they are. Sometimes it’s really just a case of noticing all those sideways glances.
My sister-in-law came out when she was 30. Her brothers and their wives had all pretty well figured it out anyway. I mean she never “dated” anyone and lived with several women to “share expenses”. Nobody asked or pushed her on it, we just talked about how we wished she could be out. Now, when she did come out her mom refused to even talk to her for six months, so she had good reason to be circumspect. She never really did tell her father for fear of how he would react. None of us said “we know”, but we pretty much did.
“We know” seems pretty tame compared to the alternative.
speaking as someone who came out in the early 90s and had this response from friends and family, it actually came as a relief to be told “we know.” — i carried all this fear for well over a decade because i thought i was the only one who felt that way or realized what was going on, but in reality everyone around me could see and feel my conflict and pain. it was so nice to not really have surprised anyone, and to be accepted for finally being able to be true to myself.
I know very few gay people who surprised friends and family with their coming out. “We know” probably wasn’t meant as “well yeah no shit!” but as comfort that this is not a surprise and their feelings and attitudes towards him are unchanged. I’ve never responded to such news with a “I know,” but have certainly observed that it was not exactly stunning news.
It’s weird. My oldest (13) came out as gay (well, technically pan) and he grew up playing basketball and doing all the typical boy stuff. My second oldest (12) who grew up wearing girl’s clothing and playing with “girl” toys cannot stop ogling his female classmates now that puberty has started to kick in. It’s sort of made me wonder what “gay” and “lesbian” really mean. On the face of it, it’s an attraction to maleness for one, and an attraction to femaleness for the other. For example, I can see how my second oldest would be that attracted to girls, because that’s what he affiliated himself to since he could walk. Same with my oldest – he grew up disliking anything feminine and really leaned into maleness.
He’s gay? Oh, schnapp!
Schnapp is my preferred brand of British cigarettes
Is anyone really surprised or is it that he made it official?
Great to se low key homophobic attitudes from the same people who always join a righteous pile on in here or kotaku. Way to know how sincere are their Liberal values.
Who’s being a homophobe?
I’m pretty sure this officially makes the show’s crew forcing that hairstyle on him a hate crime.
Good for him. I suspected given he and Millie seem to go out of their way to make clear how platonic their best friendship is.
You mean he’s gonna pound Millie’s bunghole?
The character being queer has nothing to do with the actor, every comment along the lines of “of course he is” is completely idiotic.
…did you see that picture of the actor, though?
“Yeah, we know”, might be the response from family and friends but that’s not what coming out is about. It’s not revealing a secret to those you love, it’s telling them you’ll be who you are openly from this point on.
(shrugs) Ok.
Who dis homo?
It’s 2023. No one cares that he’s a British cigarette
Water is wet.
The working title of Avatar 3.