There's something infectious about seeing Queer joy... And Noah Schnapp is certainly feeling it!
The Stranger Things actor took to social media to share emotional photos of him celebrating his first Pride parade in New York City over the weekend, after first coming out on TikTok earlier this year.
Schnapp, 18, was sporting a big cheesy grin as he splashed around in ankle-high water in Washington Square Park, dressed in a rainbow-colored "straight outta the closet" T-shirt.
In the caption of the image, he simply wrote: "First pride [...]."
Speculation around the sexuality of Schnapp's Stranger Things character Will Byers peaked following the release of season four last year.
Fans were giddy at the prospect of the Hawkins high schooler possibly appearing to have a crush on his friend Mike Wheeler (played by Finn Wolfhard)... And Schnapp eventually confirmed that Will was indeed gay and in love with his childhood best friend Mike.
In fact, Schnapp chose to comment on the fans' suspicions in a TikTok - which has since received over 89 million views and 14 million likes - posting a short clip of himself lip-syncing to a viral TikTok sound that said: "It was never that serious."
The text overlay of the video read: "When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years and all they said was 'we know.'" In the caption, the actor added: "I guess I'm more similar to Will than I thought."
When Schnapp posted the happy photos of himself from his first Pride, many people took to the comments section to offer messages of support, with one person writing: "I'm so proud of you Noah, don't care about people who say bad things about who you are, Be proud and love is love [...]."
Another comment read: "ICONIC SO HAPPY FOR U."
Since the most recent season of Stranger Things was released, viewers were hoping that Will's sexuality would be addressed in the upcoming final season of the show, especially as many people related to Will's journey.
Schnapp spoke to Variety about the relationship between Will and his best friend Mike, telling the outlet in July last year: "It was always kind of there, but you never really knew, is it just him growing up slower than his friend? Now that he's gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing. Now it's 100% clear that he is gay and he does love Mike."