Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp says his character Will is gay and is in love with Mike

Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp has said his character Will Byers is gay and in love with his best friend Mike Wheeler, confirming the speculation surrounding his character's sexuality.

Schnapp previously said this was "up to the audience’s interpretation" but after the recent release of volume two he has now confirmed what fans have been theorising in an exclusive interview with Varietyas he feels "it’s pretty clear this season that Will has feelings for Mike."

During the fourth season of the show, there have been some hints about Will's feelings such as in volume two when he cried in the van after he expressed to Mike (Finn Wolfhard) how much Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) loves him. This outpour of emotion from him is thought to be an attempt to come out to Mike and perhaps share his true feelings for him.

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While Will's sexuality has become clearer this season, the "slow arc" has been hinted at since season one when Joyce, Will's mum (Winona Ryder) explained to Hopper (David Harbour) that her son was bullied before he went missing: "He's a sensitive kid," she said. "Lonnie used to say he was queer."

"Obviously, it was hinted at in Season 1: It was always kind of there, but you never really knew, is it just him growing up slower than his friends? Now that he’s gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing," Schnapp said.

"Now it’s 100 per cent clear that he is gay and he does love Mike."

"Before, it was a slow arc," he added. "I think it is done so beautifully because it’s so easy to make a character just like all of a sudden be gay."

Stranger Things fans have shared their excitement at the news that Will is canonically gay and have praised the show's LGBTQ+ representation.

The 17-year-old also recently made headlines after popstar Doja Cat called him a "snake" and a "weasel" for sharing private DMs in a since-deleted TikTok where she asked Schnapp to set her up with Stranger Things co-star Joseph Quinn, who plays Eddie Munson.

As a result of the drama, Doja Cat has since lost over 200,000 followers on Instagram.

"Yeah, I mean, look, I’m super unserious on social media and pretty goofy, so I posted that not thinking too much of it, but obviously it hurt her feelings," Schnapp said on the matter.

"So, as I should, I apologized and she was totally okay with it, and was like, “I’m sorry how I reacted.” It was all good," and described how he told her that he's "the biggest fan of her music."

"People make such a big deal out of everything when it’s on the internet, but, like, in reality, it’s like a two-minute thing," the actor added.

Stranger Things season four is now available to watch on Netflix.

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