Noah Schnapp’s Coming-Out Scene in ‘Stranger Things’ Sparked Backlash in 5 Countries With a Wave of 1-Star Reviews
One short moment in Stranger Things Episode 7 caused a strong reaction from viewers around the world and changed how the episode was rated.
Soon after the episode dropped, audience scores started falling fast. It quickly became the lowest-rated episode of the season based on user ratings shared online.
Viewer data showed that the backlash was strongest in Saudi Arabia, where more than two-thirds of ratings were one star. The United States followed with over a third of ratings at one star.
The UK and Brazil were close behind, while India also saw a noticeable spike in low scores. According to audience ratings shared on major review platforms, many viewers were not reacting to the full episode but to one specific scene.
Episode 7 received the most 1-star ratings in the following countries:
— Stranger Things Memes (@SThingsMeme) December 28, 2025
Saudi Arabia: 68%
US: 37%
UK: 29%
Brazil: 29%
India: 16% pic.twitter.com/Mdv5oGupav
That scene centered on Will Byers, played by Noah Schnapp. For years, the show hinted at Will’s feelings without clearly naming them. In Episode 7, that changes. Will opens up to his friends and says he doesn’t like girls.
He also shares a vision shown to him by Vecna, where being honest about who he is leads to distance and loss instead of support. The moment is short. There is no long speech or follow-up. The group hugs, and the story moves forward.
The clear wording of the scene is what made it stand out. Earlier seasons stayed vague. This episode made it direct, and that shift sparked strong reactions online.
Some viewers accused Netflix of pushing an agenda. One angry post read, “DID YOU KNOW🚨: Netflix decided to RUIN their most popular show of all-time, Stranger Things, by focusing their final season on Will coming out as a homosexual.” Another wrote, “The woke mind virus has infected everything. Come on Netflix, you can do better.”
The criticism did not only come from one side. Some queer fans were also unhappy with how the moment was handled. Will’s fear of being rejected, shown through Vecna’s vision, upset viewers who felt the scene leaned too much into pain instead of support.
The scene also brought back arguments about the long-running “Byler” theory, which imagined a romantic future between Will and Mike. Episode 7 confirms that Mike was the person Will once had feelings for, but many fans felt that reveal was rushed or poorly handled.
One viewer wrote, “After all these years we get a poorly executed five-minute scene that pulls everything together?” Another said, “That coming out scene was a spit in the face of all queer fans.” Others questioned the fairness of Will’s story, with one comment reading, “So Mike could swap spit with some girl he can’t even say he loves, but Will gets this ending?”
Not everyone hated the scene. Some fans defended it and said it was an important step for Will’s growth. A few believe his story is not finished and could still change in the final season.
Still, the reaction had a clear impact. Season 5 is currently the only season in the Stranger Things franchise to earn a “rotten” audience score, sitting at 56 percent on audience review trackers with thousands of ratings counted.
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