Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp found himself in hot water yesterday when a video surfaced appearing to show him repeatedly saying the N-word. Said video seems to have been shot on a bus and sees Schnapp and his friends singing along to Lil Dicky’s “Freaky Friday.” Condemnation was swift, with #noahschnappisoverparty trending on Twitter and disappointed fans making comments like: “Should of left his ass in the upside down world.”
Schnapp quickly put out an apology though, claiming that he was actually saying “neighbor” while singing. Here’s what he posted:
“Hi guys. Recently a video from last summer has gotten out of me dancing and singing a song while singing the word “neighbor” over the n word. I would truly never say the n word and I’m not the type of person. I genuinely have never used that word in my life. Using the word ’neighbor’ in that song was just something my camp friends and I did. I hope you can all understand I could never even think about doing that. My friends would also never post a video, or support me, if I was saying that slur without hesitation. I apologize for using a replacement word. It is not my place to use one I should of kept my mouth shut. I understand why its is found offensive and I am so sorry.”
On listening to the video, it does sound like he’s saying “neighbor,” but some fans aren’t convinced and still hear the N-word. In any case, it seems that a lot of young stars – especially performers – now have to contend with almost everything they’ve done in public being recorded and posted somewhere. So, assuming he is saying “neighbor,” I feel a bit of sympathy for him.
The whole thing has a bit of irony, too, in that Lil Dicky’s “Freaky Friday” is about the white comedy rapper waking up in Chris Brown’s body (and Brown waking up in his) and realizing he can now get away with saying the N-word. If the point of the song is that a white person can only get away with saying it in the unlikely event they’re magically transported into a black person’s body, then maybe that’s a good indication that you should steer clear.
Regardless, I’d imagine Schnapp has probably learned his lesson now and his days of singing “What up my neighbor?” are over.
Stranger Things season 4 – described as the scariest yet – is expected to start shooting again in September. Let’s hope for a 2021 release date.
