Stranger Things’ actor Noah Schnapp faces backlash over controversial video showing off stickers ‘Hamas is Isis’ and ‘Zionism is Sexy’

UNITED STATES – Noah Schnapp, the 19-year-old actor known for his role as Will Byers in Netflix’s Stranger Things, has faced intense social media scrutiny and backlash after a video went viral.

The footage, posted by @mayybyers on X (formerly Twitter), shows Schnapp and his friends showing off stickers with a controversial message such as ‘Hamas is Isis’ and ‘Zionism is sexy.’

The 16-second video has quickly garnered 6.2 million views since its upload on November 13.

It has since gone viral with him trending on X – leaving many alarmed and calling him out publicly.

Schnapp has yet to address the outrage publicly.

Schnapp’s public post on IG

Prior to this, he published a post on Instagram (Oct 12), explaining that he was “afraid” over the conflict.

In his post, he started with a reference to his own Jewish heritage as well as a message of solidarity with the country reeling from a previous attack.

“As a Jewish American, I am afraid. Afraid for my brothers and sisters in Israel, who have been senselessly attacked by Hamas. I am truly heartbroken to see the brutal murders of innocent children, women and soldiers fighting to defend themselves,” he wrote.

The actor acknowledged he wants peace between both Palestinians and Israel but insisted that people should not be choosing sides over this issue.

He added, “I, like others, want peace for both Palestinians and Israelis. Let’s stop the rhetoric and choosing sides. Instead we must recognize that we are all on the side of the fight against terrorism. Choose humanity over violence.

“You don’t have to be Jewish, you don’t have to be Israeli, you just have to have empathy and common sense to know that THIS is wrong.

“I hope we can agree that Hamas are a recognised terrorist organisation; they don’t represent the Palestinian people when they value murdering Israelis more than protecting their own. You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism. It shouldn’t be a difficult choice. Shame on you,” he stated in the post.

Almost 1.6 million people — about two-thirds of Gaza’s population — have been internally displaced since 7 October, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.

On 7 October, Hamas launched a wave of attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians.

Israel’s relentless campaign in response has killed at least 11,360 people in Gaza, including 4,609 children, according to WAFA.

Online commentators criticize the viral video

As a result of the viral video, numerous individuals have contemplated boycotting the “Stranger Things” series on Netflix and have been advocating for Schnapp’s removal from the cast.

“Can they fire him on Stranger Things already?” one user asked, remarking that his character is no longer highly significant in the series.

“Noah Schnapp having stickers saying “Zionism is Sexy” and “Hamas is ISIS,” this man is a white American who has never been affected by oppression,” a commenter penned.

Another user on X said, “What upsets me about that Noah Schnapp video is that these are the same people crying and throwing up saying they were fearing for their lives because “the world hates them”.. there are people rn losing their lives while they’re making fun of them on sm,” an X user replied.

Meanwhile, another user pointed out what they perceive as Schnapp’s hypocrisy.

They highlighted that Schnapp had previously expressed deep emotions, shedding tears over a Hamas attack and posting a lengthy message on Instagram urging people to choose humanity over violence.

However, he criticized Schnapp for endorsing the message “Zionism is sexy” when there are casualties among Palestinians, suggesting a contradiction in his stance.

Fuckkk You Noah Schnapp. On Oct11, he cried buckets over Hamas attack and Posted a long post on IG urging people to choose humanity over violence & how a Jew he feels betrayed by world’s silence.

After, Israel k!lling more than 11k Palestinians out of which 4k are kids,… pic.twitter.com/Ggw2KprBeL

— Nahýan (@Media_Tak1) November 13, 2023

User highlight supposed “double standard”

Among the various comments, one user called out the supposed “double standard” and difference in treatment between those who had publicly supported Palestine, stating: “People losing their career over saying free Palestine but Noah Schnapp will be able to return to stranger things and live the rest of his life off the money from it. What the f**k.”

An example of such “double standard”, can be seen in  to Bella Hadid, a Palestinian-American supermodel, who was replaced by Israeli model May Tager in the latest advertising campaign by the popular brand Dior.

Bella Hadid, known for her Palestinian-American heritage, has been an outspoken advocate for the Palestinian cause, consistently using her platform to address related issues.

Given her stance, Dior’s choice to replace her with Israeli model May Tager has ignited a wave of criticism on social media, with many users launching the #BoycottDior hashtag campaign.

Moreover, reports from Israeli media outlet Al Bawaba have indicated that Dior’s decision to terminate its contract with Bella Hadid in favour of May Tager is indeed accurate.

Al Bawaba suggests that this move signifies Dior’s support for Israel, which has further fueled the calls for a Dior boycott from the public.