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Tag: coming out

  • Noah Schnapp Says He’d Still Be Closeted If Not For ‘Stranger Things’

    Noah Schnapp Says He’d Still Be Closeted If Not For ‘Stranger Things’

    Sometimes, art imitates life in a profound way. In a recent Variety cover story, Stranger Things star Noah Schanpp says he believes that he “would still be closeted” if he had never played Will Byers on the smash hit Netflix series. 

    Schnapp has played introverted Will Byers since 2016, when he was just twelve years old. From the onset of the series, there were indications that the character of Will might be gay, with Winona Ryder’s Joyce Byers revealing in the series premiere that other kids call Will “queer,” and that his absentee father had called him an anti-gay slur. At that point, Schnapp “didn’t really think twice about” Will’s sexuality. “I was so young; I barely even knew what that word meant,” he told Variety. “And I don’t even think I knew myself that I was gay.”

    Over the course of the series, Will has come to terms with his sexuality. In a pivotal moment in season 3, Will’s best friend Mike (Finn Wolfhard) says to him, “It’s not my fault that you don’t like girls,” and Will’s major storyline in season 4 follows his his unrequited crush on Mike. In a 2022 Variety interview, Scnapp confirmed that the character of Will Byers was gay—a step that was met with overwhelming support from Stranger Things fans, and was instrumental in helping Schnapp understand his own sexuality.

    “Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself,” said Schnapp. “I would be in a completely different place if I didn’t have Will to portray, and to embrace and help me accept myself. I think if I never played that character, I probably would still be closeted.”

    Eventually, Schnapp found the courage to come out—first to his twin sister, Chloe, and then to his close family and friends, including his Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobbie Brown. “I kept trying to do it in person with her, and it was too hard,” he said. “So then I just FaceTimed her one day in the middle of a Party City and I was like, ‘Millie, I’m gay.’ And she was like, ‘Oh, Schnapper! You told me finally!’”

    Next, it was time to tell the world. Schnapp came out to the public via an eight second viral TikTok that he shared with his 31 million followers on TikTok. Schnapp said that after posting the TikTok which has received over 14 million likes, he received thousands of messages from friends, family, and fans congratulating him on coming out.  “When I opened my phone at the end of the car ride, it was, like, a thousand texts of hearts and congratulations and rainbow flags,” says Schnapp. “I was crying. I was like, ‘I made it. I’m done. I don’t have to worry.’” 

    Schnapp will reprise his role  for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things. Filming was set to begin this summer, but has been placed on hold due to the SAG strike. But according to Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer, Schnapp’s character “really takes center stage again in 5.” “This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together,” Duffer told Variety. “Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that’s being protected. So part of his journey, it’s not just sexuality — it’s Will coming into his own as a young man.”

    Chris Murphy

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  • Superbowl LVI was crypto’s coming out party. This year, the party’s over | CNN Business

    Superbowl LVI was crypto’s coming out party. This year, the party’s over | CNN Business


    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Super Bowl LVI was the crypto world’s coming out party. Buzzy firms made bold pitches last year, and shelled out millions of dollars on ads encouraging viewers not to be afraid of this new-fangled digital investment — and for God’s sake don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity!

    You can expect a lot less noise from Team Crypto during Super Bowl LVII next Sunday.

    In the year since those celebrity-packed ads debuted, the entire crypto industry has been rattled by a collapse in digital asset values. Bankruptcies began to pile up over the summer.

    Then the real pain started.

    Of the four crypto or crypto-affiliated companies that advertised in the Super Bowl last year, one (FTX) has collapsed completely. The others (Coinbase, Crypto.com and eToro) have fought against industry headwinds. Shares of Coinbase, the only publicly traded company in the group, have fallen more than 60% since its “floating QR code” ad became one of the most talked-about spots.

    Don’t expect any of those companies to be back this year. FTX is bankrupt and under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors. Etoro, a multi-asset trading platform, confirmed to CNN it would not be splurging on an ad this year, saying that while it continues to invest heavily in marketing, “we dial up or down specific channels based on many factors including market conditions.”

    Coinbase declined to comment. Representatives for Crypto.com — the company behind the ad featuring LeBron James telling his younger self to “call your own shots” — didn’t respond to requests for comment.

    But there will be at least one crypto-adjacent newcomer. Limit Break, a blockchain-based game developer, has secured a spot and intends to give away 40,000 NFTs, or non-fungible tokens (aka one-of-a-kind digital collectibles) to viewers who scan its QR code. Limit Break, founded in 2021, said it has already raised $200 million and expects to grow “a massive global audience.”

    Despite what is being called a “crypto winter,” sports advertising remains a crucial avenue for the digital curency, marketing experts say, as their target demographics share significant overlap — sports fans and crypto traders tend to be mostly male and mostly young.

    But turmoil in the crypto space means marketers are changing their tactics.

    “The tone has shifted towards Web3-driven fan engagement over crypto-specific advertising,” said Silvia Lacayo, head of marketing at crypto exchange Bitstamp US. (Web3 refers to a future internet framework that is decentralized and gives consumers more control over their own data).

    “Crypto firms are focusing less on crypto advertising and more on investing in better user experiences, products, and customer service,” Lacayo added.

    Although we don’t yet know the final lineup of advertisers for the Super Bowl, the usual suspects — beer, snacks, cars — are on deck as usual.

    “The fact that the crypto players are not going to be on the Super Bowl reflects the fact that that world has profoundly changed,” Calkins said. “Last year it was an exuberant time for crypto … This year, everything is different.”

    A year ago, FTX fetched a private valuation of around $32 billion. Its Super Bowl ads featured Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen. Another FTX ad featured Larry David in a role that, a year later, appears prescient, with David sarcastically predicting that FTX won’t make it.

    In November, nine months after the ad debuted, FTX filed for bankruptcy. Several former executives have been charged with wire fraud and conspiracy over allegations FTX misappropriated customer funds.

    “It’s amazing how you can look back one year you realize we were in such a different place,” Calkins said. “Last year we had a Super Bowl advertiser saying, ‘fly me to the moon,’” he said, referencing the music in eToro’s ad, which many read as a nod to the meme-stock traders’ rally cry.

    But a year of higher inflation, the end of pandemic-era stimulus and higher interest rates has put a damper on financial markets — not only crypto, but traditional markets as well.

    That shift in mood will likely show up in the kinds of advertisers we see and in their messaging.

    “Our economy’s in a strange place,” Calkins says. “So if you’re an advertiser, it’s hard to know — how do you play that?”

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  • FDA Moves To Ease Blood Donation Rules For Gay And Bisexual Men

    FDA Moves To Ease Blood Donation Rules For Gay And Bisexual Men

    The Food and Drug Administration has proposed easing blood donation guidelines for gay and bisexual men, doing away with the current three-month abstinence requirement for donations from men who have sex with men. What do you think?

    “But what if a life-saving transfusion from a gay man forces me to examine my prejudices?”

    Brent Hamlin, Grain Inspector

    “I guess they got all the homophobia out of their system with the Monkeypox coverage.”

    Damien Cicchelli, Freelance Agitator

    “I’m glad we’re doing away with the last remaining shred of anti-gay prejudice in our society.”

    Audrey Davila, Insult Cataloguer

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  • Former New Zealand rugby player Campbell Johnstone becomes first All Black to come out as gay | CNN

    Former New Zealand rugby player Campbell Johnstone becomes first All Black to come out as gay | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Former New Zealand rugby player Campbell Johnstone became the first All Black to come out publicly as gay, in an interview with TVNZ’s Seven Sharp on Monday.

    Johnstone – who played three Test matches for New Zealand, including two against the British and Irish Lions in 2005 – said he told his friends and family “a long time ago” before making the announcement on the show.

    “If I can be the first All Black that comes out as gay and take away the pressure and stigma surrounding the issue it can actually help other people,” Johnstone said.

    “Then the public will know that there is one in amongst the All Blacks … and it could be one of the final pieces in the puzzle sports-wise that gives everyone closure,” the former Canterbury and Crusaders player added.

    Responding to the announcement, New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson praised his former teammate, saying Johnstone’s “strength and visibility will pave the way for others in our game,” in a statement released on Twitter on Monday.

    “Rugby is a sport that is welcoming to everyone and a place where people should feel safe to be who they are. We know that there are people who have not always been comfortable to be who they are in rugby. We want to be clear, no matter who you love, rugby has your back,” Robinson added.

    The 43-year-old Johnstone said he was ready for the spotlight that would be cast upon him, adding: “I am very much happy and very comfortable about myself, so I am very happy about that.”

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