Amid Calls For A "Stranger Things" Boycott, Noah Schnapp Made A New Statement About His Israel-Palestine Beliefs
Over 24,100 Palestinians in Gaza, including at least 9,600 children, have reportedly been killed in retaliatory attacks stemming from the events of Oct. 7, in which 1,200 Israelis were reportedly killed — the majority of them civilians — in attacks by Hamas.
Over the last several months, there's been a massive global outpouring of support for Palestinians, with protests taking place around the world (including within Israel itself). Celebrities and public figures who have voiced their support have also suffered consequences for doing so.
There have also been celebrities who have voiced support for Israel's campaign of attacks against the Palestinian people. Amy Schumer faced criticism for a series of escalating posts that included a public rebuke from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s daughter Bernice King.
Shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks, Jamie Lee Curtis and Justin Bieber both shared photos of the devastation in Palestine, under the presumption that they were pictures of Israel. They have both since deleted their posts without further apology or comment.
Sarah Silverman shared a post from an Israeli food vlogger who said that Israel didn't need to provide Palestinians with water and electricity. She later said that she shared the post in a "stoned fury" and told the Los Angeles Times she had "no explanation" for why she shared it.
This brings us to Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp, who has faced backlash over the last two months for a video he posted to his Instagram Story, where he and his friends smiled and laughed while holding up "Zionism is sexy" stickers.
The reaction to Noah's post has been pretty negative. Last week, support started to grow for a boycott of Stranger Things' final season given his involvement.
Well, it seems like Noah (or, more likely, someone at Netflix) got wind of the boycott chatter because, after two months of escalating criticism following the initial video, Noah has finally responded via a TikTok.
@noahschnapp / Via tiktok.com
“I feel like my thoughts and beliefs have been so far misconstrued from anything even close to what I believe, and I wanted to just state from my heart how I feel," Noah stated.
"I only want peace and safety and security for all innocent people affected by this conflict. I’ve had many open discussions with friends from Palestinian background, and I think those are very important conversations to have and I’ve learned a lot."
Noah went on to explain what he took away from those conversations: "We all hope for the same things, that being those innocent people still being held hostage in Gaza to be returned to their families, and equally hope for an end to the loss of innocent life in Palestine — so many of those people being women and children, and it’s horrible to see."
"I think anyone with any ounce of humanity would hope for an end to the hostility on both sides."
You can watch his entire video statement here.