Stranger Things fans are celebrating Noah Schnapp who came out as gay in a fun and casual TikTok video. The 18-year-old who is best known for his role as Will Byers on the hit Netflix series shared the news with his 30 million followers on Thursday, January 5.

Noah’s announcement video is short and sweet, featuring the text “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’,” while lip-syncing to the trending audio “You know what it never was? That serious. It was never that serious. Quite frankly, will never be that serious.”

Along with the TikTok, his caption reads, “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.”

@noahschnappI guess I’m more similar to will than I thought♬ original sound – princessazula0

The news immediately went viral. Within 12 hours of Noah Schnapp sharing that he is gay, the video accumulated nearly 40 million views. Fans shared their love and admiration for the actor, responding with messages of encouragement and excitement with queer Glee actor, Kevin McHale, writing “proud of you” and others saying, “welcome home.”

Everyone has their own timing and terms?️‍?proud of him for his courage and speaking his truth❤️????? #NoahSchnapp #StrangerThings https://t.co/QEwl4Js5Vh

— あちもち(achimochi) (@achimochi1007) January 6, 2023

I just exclaimed “What? Oh my god!” and asked my bf if he had a minute so I could share something with him, and he goes “is it about the actor from stranger things being gay?” … ? bitch it was how does he know me so well

— hanny (@autiealien) January 6, 2023

noah schnapp coming out in a random tiktok saying he’s more like will than he thought is the most noah schnapp thing i’ve ever seen lmao good for him

— eddie munson supremacy (@hellfireIover) January 5, 2023

LGBTQ+ fans are particularly moved to know that a queer actor is playing the role of Will. Noah was only 11 when he started filming Stranger Things, and many have noted the significance of a young actor gradually owning his queer identity as it evolves with his character on the show.

truly i could not be more happy that noah schnapp plays will byers. having a queer teenager represented and advocated for by a queer actor feels incredible.

— cher ?⋆｡˚ (@cherbearsz) January 5, 2023

i’m pretty neutral on noah schnapp like i don’t love him or hate him but i am SO happy that a gay person is playing a canon gay character in one of the biggest tv shows in the world like this a textbook definition of representation of queers in media

— BEN! (@sinclairbug) January 5, 2023

noah schnapp being gay makes so much sense because a straight person would never have been able to film this scene as well as he did pic.twitter.com/smDHwpKiVf

— Lauren✜⁷ (@cutesope) January 5, 2023

While there have been speculations about Will’s sexuality and feelings for his friend Mike, his character has not yet come out to his friends or family on the show.

After the fourth season of Stranger Things aired, Noah confirmed that Will Byers is gay and in love with his best friend Mike. He said, “It was always kind of there, but you never really knew… 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.”

Fans are likely to enjoy re-watching the series and looking for subtle clues about Will’s sexuality in earlier seasons. The first four seasons of Stranger Things are available to stream now. Netflix has confirmed that Season 5 will be the final season of the show, but there is no confirmation of when production will begin.