Noah Schnapp was blasted as “disgusting” on social media on Monday after sharing a video in which he and his friends are laughing and holding up stickers that say “Zionism is sexy.”
The backlash against the “Stranger Things” star comes amid the escalation of Israel’s war on Gaza in retaliation for the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7. The reaction to the Instagram Stories clip, which has been widely shared on Twitter, had some calling for a boycott of the hit Netflix series’ upcoming final season.
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Singer Lauren Jauregi, a former member of Fifth Harmony, wrote on X, “Who the f—k even evokes the word ‘sexy’ in the midst of genocide … There is an enjoyment of bloodshed, an enjoyment of death, a celebration of it.”
Her post was shared by more than 3,800 people, including by “Con Air” actor John Cusack.
Another person commented on Schnapp’s latest Instagram post (in which he thanks designer Ami de Coeur for featuring him in a campaign): “I am so disappointed in you… it’s absolutely disgusting. Maybe do some history research instead of listening to the people around you.”
“Noah….why is killing innocent civilians sexy??” wrote another IG user, while one person commented, “Disgusting, and I will never watch any of your films again, including Stranger Things.”
On Oct. 11, Schnapp expressed his fear and anguish over the Hamas attacks, writing in IG post, “You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism.”
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That also evoked strong reactions, including one person who joked that he was now on the side of the “‘Stranger Things’ main villain, who kidnapped the actor’s character Will Byers: “I stand with the demogorgon that took Noah Schnapp.”
The Jewish actor, best known for playing Will Byers in Stranger Things, shared the clip on his Instagram Stories, where he’s seen handing out the stickers, including some which say “Hamas is ISIS”, with friends.
Schnapp previously posted a statement (October 11) where he called for “peace for both Palestinians and Israelis” following the October 7 attack by Hamas militants, which killed around 1,400 Israeli civilians and soldiers.