Noah Schnapp "Zionism Is Sexy" Controversy

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Part of a series on 2023-2024 Hamas-Israel Conflict. [View Related Entries]

Overview

Noah Schnapp "Zionism Is Sexy" Controversy, also known as Noah Schnapp Canceled, refers to discussions and debates about Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp's support of Israel and his perceived endorsement of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Zionism amid the 2023 Israel-Hamas Conflict. Pro-Palestine internet users initially expressed criticism against Schnapp after the actor visited Israel in July 2022, with pressure continuing to grow after he expressed support for Israel following Hamas's attack on October 7th of that year. In November 2023, Schnapp then liked an Instagram video some considered anti-LGBTQ and Islamaphobic, and was later featured in a post in which he can be seen with a group of friends holding up stickers that read "Hamas is ISIS" and "Zionism is Sexy." This led to renewed criticism of the actor from pro-Palestine internet users, who called for boycotts of the upcoming Stranger Things season alongside calls to cancel him.

Background

Noah Schnapp is an American actor best known for his role as the character Will Byers in the Netflix series Stranger Things. In July 2022, Schnapp visited Israel, with several internet users subsequently criticizing him for posing with an "IDF soldier" for a photo (seen below).^[1]^[2]^[3] However, the woman seen in the image is actually a member of a border patrol unit of the Israel Police,^[14] which is not part of the IDF.^[15]

On October 11th, 2023, four days after Hamas's attack on Israel, Schnapp took to his Instagram^[4] to share a statement condemning Hamas, antisemitism and saying that he wants peace for both Palestinians and Israeli people. The post gathered over 1 million likes in a month (seen below).

Developments

On November 6th, 2023, Noah Schnapp was accused of liking a controversial Instagram^[5] video posted by author Noa Tishby (as seen in alleged screenshots shared online^[16]). The satirical sketch showed actors playing LGBTQ+ college students expressing support for Hamas and Palestine, and video calling with a Hamas fighter who said, "Allah will kill you infidels."

On November 13th, Schnapp was then featured in a video where he was seen sitting in a coffee shop with his friends passing around stickers that said, "Hamas is ISIS" and "Zionism is Sexy." The video was reposted to the subreddit^[6] /r/Fauxmoi by /u/HelloKitty_theAlien, gathering over 5,000 upvotes in two days (seen below).

Online Reactions

Criticism of Noah Schnapp grew in November 2023, exacerbated by people accusing him of reposting of content from conservative political commentator and podcaster Ben Shapiro (screenshot of alleged repost^[17]). Schnapp notably came out as gay in 2023. X^[7] user @nomorecaliyo made a post on November 6th, 2023, documenting and criticizing what they perceived as Schnapp's controversial internet history, gathering over 8,000 likes in a week (seen below). The sentiment was echoed by other X users as well.^[8]

Over the following days, the video of Schnapp recording a group displaying "Zionism is Sexy" and "Hamas is ISIS" stickers also drew the ire of many internet users, with X^[9] user @saintdoII saying, "it fills me with so much rage how palestinian public figures have to be so careful with their words in support of their own people but noah schnapp continuously spreads misinformation, propaganda and disrespects people who are suffering a literal genocide without any consequences," gathering over 150,000 likes in two days. On November 10th, X^[10] user @zeid7azboun02 called for people to boycott the upcoming season of Stranger Things regarding the controversy surrounding Schnapp (seen below, right).

On November 13th, X^[11] user @kimwexlcrs posted a purported screenshot of actor John Cusack liking a post equating Noah Schnapp's "Zionism is Sexy" stickers with necrophilia (seen below).

Some internet users rose to Schnapp's defense noting his young age and criticizing the degree of backlash he was receiving. Subreddits such as /r/Jewish^[12] and /r/Destiny saw sympathetic posts after November 13th, 2023. For example, Redditor broleft made a post to /r/Destiny^[13] on November 13th calling the hate toward Schnapp "disgustingly stupid and pathetic," receiving over 50 upvotes and 40 comments in two days (seen below).