The 'Stranger Things' star drew backlash last November when a video of him laughing along with his friends who were holding stickers that read 'Zionism is Sexy' and 'Hamas is ISIS' emerged online.
- Jan 17, 2024
AceShowbiz - Noah Schnapp has spoken out about the social media backlash over his viral "zionism is sexy" video. In a new video shared on TikTok, the "Stranger Things" star claimed that his views on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas "have been so far misconstrued."
"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," the actor said in the Monday, January 15 video. "I only want peace and safety and security for all innocent people affected by this conflict."
He added that he's "had many open discussions with friends from Palestinian background," adding, "I think those are very important conversations to have and I've learned a lot."
Noah, who is Jewish, went on to stress, "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."
"I stand against any killing of any innocent people and I hope you guys all do, too," he continued. "And I just hope to one day see those two groups be able to live harmoniously together in that region. And I hope for 2024 online to see people be a little more understanding and compassionate and recognize that we're all human, regardless of our race, of our ethnicity, of our background, of our country of birth, even our sexuality, of anything."
He concluded, "We are all human and we're all the same and we should all love each other for that and support each other and stand together."
The 19-year-old turned off the comment, but that didn't stop Internet users from sharing their opinion on the video. "no such thing as peace without liberation. also f**k you noah schnapp," one X user wrote. Someone, meanwhile, pulled out receipt when the actor wrote on Instagram, "You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism. It shouldn't be a difficult choice. Shame on you."
Another user added, "something that so deeply bothers me is when z*onists say stuff like 'i hope the two groups can live together' like.. NO? YALL stole the land and you need to GET OUT. its literally as if someone broke into ur house, refuses to leave and then is like 'we can share'. no.. get OUT."
One person believed that Noah's new video is a PR stunt ahead of "Stranger Things" season 5 release. "Noah Schnapp going from 'Zionism is sexy' to 'I just want peace' purely for good PR before Stranger Things 5 comes out. 'Peace' really is the word of the white liberal, because it's so vague. There's no such thing as peace without first liberation," the person pointed out.
Noah drew backlash last November when a video of him laughing along with his friends who were holding stickers that read "Zionism is Sexy" and "Hamas is ISIS" emerged online. Among the critics at the time was Fifth Harmony member Lauren Jauregui, who accused Noah and his friends of "an enjoyment of bloodshed, an enjoyment of death." John Cusack later retweeted Jauregui's post.
