Is the Millie Bobby Brown joking about setting Noah Schnapp on fire tweet real? Viral LGBTQ claim debunked

On December 9, a rumor began circulating online that American actor Noah Schnapp claimed that British actress and producer Millie Bobby Brown had reportedly “joked” about setting him on fire and calling him an LGBBQ, in relation to his sexuality. It was first claimed by Drop Pop (@DropPopNet) on the social media platform X.

“Noah Schnapp shares that Millie Bobby Brown has repeatedly joked about setting him on fire and calling him an ‘LGBBQ,’” the post read.

The X post, which had pictures of the Stranger Things co-stars, garnered severe traction online. In less than 24 hours, it earned 31.6 million views.

However, the now-viral claim has turned out to be fake. Millie Bobby Brown has made no so joke about Noah Schnapp. The Drop Pop account that posted the rumor is recognized for its parodic content, as mentioned in its bio.

“Parody account, everything posted on the account is satirical and for humorous purposes, our posts are not meant to be taken seriously. DM for removal, enquiries, etc… (Owned by POC),” the About section read.

Additionally, there aren’t any verifiable sources to support the rumor. Thus, the claim can be debunked as fabricated and unfounded, likely intended for virality and sensationalism

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Millie Bobby Brown has been at the center of similar false claims in the past

In late 2017, a claim began circulating on social media platforms that then-13-year-old Millie Bobby Brown was anti-LGBTQ. It quickly turned into memes in 2018 with people openly calling her homoph*bic.

Dark and inappropriate imagery surfaced online. For instance, a video of a car being driven into a crowd with the caption, “Millie Bobby Brown arriving at Pride.” Likewise, another post alleged that Brown reportedly threw a hot McDonald's McCafe beverage at an individual wearing a Pride t-shirt.

Such posts were accompanied by the hashtag #TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown. While all the videos and images were doctored and the rumors fabricated and false, it led Enola Holmes star to quit Twitter indefinitely, except for a lone post in January 2019, reading, “hi. i missed u.” However, she continued to remain active on Instagram and Facebook.

In 2018, Millie Bobby Brown responded to the online bullying during her acceptance speech at the MTV Movie & TV Award.

“Since I know there are many young people watching this – and even to the adults, too; they could probably use the reminder – that I was taught that if you don’t have anything nice to say, just don’t say it,” she shared.

Meanwhile, the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador has been a vocal advocate of LGBTQ+ rights and has openly supported the community. When asked whether Noah Schnapp’s character on Stranger Things, aka Will Byers was gay, she even told Variety in 2022:

“Can I just say, it’s 2022 and we don’t have to label things. I think what’s really nice about Will’s character is that he’s just a human being going through his own personal demons and issues. So many kids out there don’t know, and that’s OK. That’s OK to not know. And that’s OK not to label things.”

Later, in January 2023, when Noah Schnapp came out as gay, the memes surrounding Brown being anti-LGBTQ resurfaced. However, the Bridge of Spies actor explained to Variety in August 2023, how elated Millie was when he told her about his sexuality.

Schnapp shared that before coming out publicly, he decided to tell his family and close friends. One of them was Millie Bobby Brown. He mentioned how he tried telling her a few times in person. However, he couldn’t do it as he was too nervous.

Ultimately, he FaceTimed her one fine day from a Party City outlet and said, “‘Millie, I’m gay.’ And she was like, ‘Oh, Schnapper! You told me finally!’”

Even in his TikTok post where he publicly came out in January 2023, Noah shared how when he finally told his family and friends, they all were supportive and even told him how they knew. Schnapp also shared that it wasn’t even “that serious” as people think and captioned his post, “I guess I'm more similar to Will than I thought,” reiterating that Will Byers was also gay.

For those unversed, Will Byers is gay and in love with his best friend Mike Wheeler on the show, played by actor Finn Wolfhard.

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Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp have been reel-turned-real-life friends since they began their Stranger Things journey together in December 2015. Since then, they have appeared on the show, events, and on each other’s social media.

In September this year, Schnapp attended Brown’s wedding to musician Jake Bongiovi. The following month the duo went to Sabrina Carpenter's Atlanta concert.