Caleb McLaughlin Net Worth 2024: What Is The “American Dream: The 21 Savage Story” Star Worth?

Caleb McLaughlin, acclaimed for his standout performances as a young actor, has rapidly become a notable figure in the entertainment world. Gaining widespread recognition for his role in the hit series Stranger Things, McLaughlin’s career has been marked by a remarkable evolution from stage to screen. As of 2024, his successes in acting, alongside his ventures into music and fashion, have culminated in a net worth of $3 million, according to Seventeen Magazine, underscoring his financial and artistic accomplishments.

Career & Accolades: From Broadway To Hollywood

Caleb McLaughlin
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 28: (L-R) Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown, Sadie Sink, Finn Wolfhard, and. Noah Schnapp attend the premiere of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” Season 3 on. June 28, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage)

McLaughlin’s acting career took flight on Broadway. There, his talents were evident from a young age. His leap to television, particularly with his role in Stranger Things, brought him international acclaim and a loyal fan base. His portrayal of complex characters and his natural charisma have earned him critical recognition and several awards. McLaughlin’s transition into film and his explorations in music and fashion reflect his diverse talents and ambition to expand his artistic repertoire.

Personal Life & Charitable Work: The Individual Behind The Fame

Caleb McLaughlin
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 24: (L-R) Samuel L. Jackson, Benjamin Crump and Caleb McLaughlin attend the. 54th NAACP Image Awards (Non-Televised Categories) Program and Dinner at. L.A. LIVE on February 24, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Arnold Turner/Getty Images for NAACP)

Beyond his professional achievements, McLaughlin’s personal life reveals a young man navigating the nuances of fame while staying true to his roots. His dedication to philanthropy, particularly in supporting youth and advocating mental health awareness, highlights his commitment to positively impacting off-screen. McLaughlin’s journey adds a relatable and inspiring dimension to his public persona.

Impact & Prospect: A Rising Star In Entertainment

Caleb McLaughlin
PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 23: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY – For Non-Editorial use please seek approval from Fashion House). Caleb McLaughlin attends the Dior Homme Menswear Spring/Summer 2024 show as part of. Paris Fashion Week on June 23, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Marc Piasecki/WireImage)

Reflecting on Caleb McLaughlin’s $3 million net worth in 2024, his career trajectory indicates a rising star with immense potential. His early successes in acting and his forays into other creative fields point to a future filled with further achievements and influence. His financial success does not just measure McLaughlin’s growing legacy in the entertainment industry but also his ability to inspire and resonate with audiences across multiple artistic mediums.

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“Stranger Things” Stars: Where Are They Now?

Stranger Things, the hit Netflix series created by the Duffer Brothers, took the world by storm when it premiered in 2016. The show’s unique blend of ’80s nostalgia, supernatural mysteries, and a talented ensemble cast made it an instant fan favorite. As the series progressed over time and through multiple seasons, viewers became invested in the characters and the young actors who portrayed them. Now, as we enter the final season, it’s time to take a look at how far these actors have come in their careers. 

Millie Bobby Brown

millie bobby brown stranger things
OSAKA, JAPAN – MAY 06: Millie Bobby Brown speaks during the celebrity talk event at Osaka Comic Con 2023 on May 6, 2023 in Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Jun Sato/WireImage)

The British actress gained widespread acclaim for her portrayal of Eleven, the telekinetic girl with a shaved head. She has continued to shine in the entertainment industry. In addition to reprising her role in Stranger Things, Brown has ventured into film. She has starred in projects like Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Enola Holmes. She is also set to star in the 2024 film Damsel. Her impressive acting skills and charismatic presence have solidified her status as one of Hollywood’s rising stars. In April 2023, Millie Bobby Brown announced her engagement to Jake Bongiovi. 

Finn Wolfhard

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – MAY 14: Finn Wolfhard attends Netflix’s “Stranger Things” Season 4 New York Premiere at Netflix Brooklyn on May 14, 2022 in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Finn Wolfhard, who played the role of Mike Wheeler, the leader of the gang, has seamlessly transitioned from the small to the big screen. The Canadian actor has since then starred in films like Ghostbusters: Afterlife, The Turning, and the critically acclaimed horror film It. He has also showcased his musical talents as the frontman of the band The Aubreys. Overall, Wolfhard’s talents have made him a sought-after actor in the industry. He also officially confirmed his relationship with Elsie Richter in 2021. Since then, the two have kept their relationship on the down-low.

Gaten Matarazzo

SANTA MONICA, CA – JUNE 16: Actor Gaten Matarazzo attends the 2018 MTV Movie And TV Awards at Barker Hangar on June 16, 2018 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for MTV)

Galen Matarazzo is best for his endearing portrayal of the lovable Dustin Henderson on Stranger Things. He has also maintained a steady presence in the entertainment world. Besides his work on Stranger Things, the American actor hosted the hidden-camera prank show Prank Encounters for three years. He also starred in the films The Christmas Chronicles, The Angry Birds Movie 2, and Honor Society. Moreover, Matarazzo is also known in the musical scene. He appeared in the Broadway shows Les Miserables and Dear Evan Hansen. Further, Matarazzo has been involved in several philanthropic efforts, using his platform to raise awareness about cleidocranial dysplasia, a condition he lives with. In the case of his love life, the actor has been going steady for five years with his girlfriend, Lizzy Yu.

Caleb McLaughlin

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 26: Caleb McLaughlin attends the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on February 26, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/FilmMagic)

Caleb McLaughlin, who portrayed the pragmatic and outspoken Lucas Sinclair, has expanded his horizons beyond Stranger Things. In addition to his continued role in the series, McLaughlin appeared in films like Dora and the Lost City, Shooting Stars, and the critically acclaimed film Concrete Cowboy. The actor has also voiced various characters in animated shows such as Summer Camp Island, Ultra City Smiths, and The Boys Presents: Diabolical. Besides his acting career, he made his music debut in 2020 with the EP Youthful Exuberance.

Noah Schnapp

Noah Schnapp at the 2023 CMT Music Awards held at Moody Center on April 2, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)

Known for his portrayal of Will Byers, Noah Schnapp has continued to showcase his acting prowess. His talent extends beyond Stranger Things with roles in films such as Abe, Hubbie Halloween, Waiting for Anya, and The Tutor. He also voiced Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie. This has solidified his place as a young actor with a promising future.

In 2023, the actor came out as gay in a TikTok video he posted. In the same year, he received enormous backlash for his mockery of the Palestinians regarding the conflict. Because of this, some fans have called for the boycotting of Stranger Things ahead of its final season. 

Sadie Sink

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 29: Sadie Sink attends “The Whale” New York Screening at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on November 29, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Sadie Sink joined the Stranger Things cast in the second season as Max Mayfield, the new girl in town. Her career has flourished since then with roles in films like Eli, Fear Street, Dear Zoe, and The Whale. Her performances have showcased her versatility, and she has evidently become a rising star in the industry.  The actress is set to star in the thriller film Berlin Nobody

Natalia Dyer

MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 18: Actress Natalia Dyer attends the ‘Stranger Things’ season 4 premiere at the Callao Cinema on May 18, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

The American actress who played Nancy Wheeler has successfully navigated her career post-Stranger Things. Dyer has been in films like Yes, God, Yes, Tuscaloosa, All Fun and Games, and Chestnut. The actress also appeared briefly in the thriller series Based on a True Story. Dyer has proved her versatility and ability to take on challenging roles in both independent and mainstream projects. She and her Stranger Things co-star Charlie Heaton are in a relationship.

Charlie Heaton

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 27: Charlie Heaton attends as Netflix Hosts “Stranger Things” Los Angeles FYSEE Event at Netflix FYSee Space on May 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Known for his role as Jonathan Byers, the protective brother, Heaton has broken out since the first season of Stranger Things. The actor’s filmography includes projects like The New Mutants, Marrowbone, The Souvenir Part II, and No Future. Heaton has one child from his past relationship with Akiko Matsuura. The actor is currently dating Stranger Things co-star Natalia Dyer.

Joe Keery

NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 29: Actor Joe Keery attends the Build Series to discuss the Netflix show ‘Stranger Things 2’ at Build Studio on November 29, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage)

Joe Keery has transitioned smoothly into a variety of projects since portraying Steve Harrington in Stranger Things. The actor has made notable appearances in films like Molly’s Game, Spree, Free Guy, and Finally Dawn. He also emerges in the fifth season of the series Fargo. Additionally, the actor is set to star in two upcoming films: Marmalade and Cold Storage. Beyond his acting pursuits, Keery is a musician under the stage name Djo. He is a neo-psychedelic, rock, and indie rock musician. 

Maya Hawke

CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 24: Maya Hawke attends the “Asteroid City” photocall at the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 24, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)

Maya Hawke, who joined the cast as Robin Buckley in the third season of Stranger Things has quickly become a standout talent. Since her breakthrough performance in the series, she has showcased her acting and musical abilities in films such as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Fear Street: Part One- 1994, Do Revenge, and Asteroid City. Embracing her musical talents, she has released two albums- Blush and Moss. Her parents are Hollywood icons, Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.

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Netflix Orders Animated “Stranger Things” Show

Since 2016, Stranger Things has been one of the hottest things on TV. The science fiction show about a town in Indiana that becomes plagued by monsters and mysteries has a rabid fanbase and avid following. The show’s young stars, including Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard, have become sensations in their own right. Brown especially has found herself in the media and tabloid spotlight for a variety of reasons.

However, Stranger Things is coming to an end. Season 5, which is due to begin filming later this year, will bring the show’s near-decade run to an end. After a fair amount of globe-trotting in recent seasons, the show will once again focus on Hawkins, Indiana. The Duffer Brothers, the creative team behind the smash hit, have confirmed that while the main show will end, it is not the end of the show’s story.

Animated Spin-Off Latest Addition To “Stranger Things” Slate

Announced Monday, an animated Stranger Things spin-off has been ordered by Netflix. Rumors of anime-inspired or animated Stranger Things show have been floated for several years. Little is known about the show, which will be run by Eric Robles and executive produced by The Duffers. Robles is a former character designer who has worked on shows such as Skunk Fu, Fanboy & Chum Chum, and Glitch Techs. It is not clear if this project is related to the long-rumored Stranger Things: Tokyo show concept. However, it is more than likely going to focus on a new group of characters, be it in Hawkins or elsewhere. Despite the lack of details, an animated project is something the Duffer Brothers have always wanted. “”We’ve always dreamed of an animated Stranger Things in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving,” the brothers told Variety.

An animated show is just the latest in a long line of spin-offs for the Netflix Stranger Things brand. The expanding world of Stranger Things also includes a rumored live-action spin-off, as well as a West End stage production. As for the Duffer Brothers themselves, they have been attached to several Netflix projects away from Stranger Things. The brothers will reportedly lead a live-action Death Note series, as well as an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Talisman. However, it’s safe to say that the Stranger Things brand isn’t going away anytime soon.

[via]

Millie Bobby Brown Is Engaged

Millie Bobby Brown is now engaged. The 19-year-old actress revealed the information in a new Instagram post. Millie has been attached to several other young stars throughout her career. However, it looks like she’s finally found “the one.” This news comes shortly after the actress spoke about how she was ready for Stranger Things to end. She has appeared on the show since the first season in 2016. With the show now entering its fifth and final season, Millie is ready to move on to bigger and better things.

Millie Bobby Brown has been in the spotlight since she was 9 years old. However, she shot to super-stardom following her role as “Eleven” on the hit Netflix show, Stranger Things. Since then, Millie has starred in many franchises, big and small. In 2019, the actress took on a role in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The following year, she was given the lead role in her own series of Netflix films, Enola Holmes. Millie was reportedly paid upwards of $6 million for the role. Since then, she has appeared in sequels for both franchises. Given her busy TV schedule, it’s surprising she was able to appear in other projects at all. The actress does have a few more roles in the pipeline, but she likely can’t do much until Stranger Things ends.

Millie Reveals Fiancé On Instagram

In an Instagram post, Millie shared a picture with her fiance. The caption read “I’ve loved you three summers now, honey, I want ’em all,” which is a reference to a Taylor Swift song. The photo shows Millie looking happy and radiant as she’s held from behind by her fiancé. She also displays an engagement ring with an extremely large stone. Fans may not be familiar with her fiancé, whose name is Jacob Bongiovi. However, they will surely be familiar with his father. Jacob is the son of famed singer, Jon Bon Jovi.

Fans and friendly alike reacted with joy in the comment section of Millie’s announcement. “I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU ARE YOU KIDDING ME,” one user said. “OMG CONGRATS!!!! forever love is best ever,” said another fan. What do you think of Billie’s engagement announcement? Sound off in the comments!

“Stranger Things” Star Noah Schnapp Comes Out As Gay

Another celebrity’s sexuality has become the talk of Hollywood now that Noah Schnapp has made a revelation. The Stranger Things star has been under a microscope as he amassed child fame thanks to the Netflix series. As Hollywood often does, there were talks that Schnapp may have had a teen crush on his co-star Millie Bobby Brown. According to Schnapp, he’s gay.

The 18-year-old actor uploaded a playful TikTok where he shared the news with the world.

@noahschnapp

I guess I’m more similar to will than I thought

♬ original sound – princessazula0

Read More: Noah Schnapp Tells TikTok He Apologized To Doja Cat While Listening To Her Music

Schnapp participated in a social media trend where people spoke about huge life events that ended up not being as big of a deal to their loved ones.

“When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years,” he wrote in his video. “And all they said was ‘we know.’”

For some, this doesn’t come as a surprise. There were rumors that Schnapp’s Stranger Things character, Will Byers, was gay and in love with his friend, Mike Wheeler. Although this was initially introduced as a fan theory, Schnapp confirmed that was the case.

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 06: Noah Schnapp attends the 2022 People’s Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on December 06, 2022 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images )
Read More: “Stranger Things’” Noah Schnapp Talks How To “Interpret” Will’s Sexuality

“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,” he previously said about his character.

“But before, it was a slow arc. I think it is done so beautifully, because it’s so easy to make a character just like all of a sudden be gay.”

Check out Noah Schnapp’s TikTok above.

TV Had A Solid Year For Music Discovery In 2022, But Why Can’t Reality TV Do The Same?

One can’t swing a dead rat on the sinking ship of making money in the music industry without hearing about how TikTok has become this incredible tool for music discovery. And sure, it’s true — a new generation has learned to vibe with Fleetwood Mac, Gayle, and Kate Bush. Wait, hold up, that last one, while a TikTok banger, was on the Netflix to TikTok pipeline in 2022. While TV shows aren’t using music as prolifically as they once did or introducing us to as much new music (there are a lot of great shows leaning heavily on catalog songs and fewer shows like the recently completed tastemaker Insecure), it’s still a fantastic music discovery tool.

As is the case every year, this year a myriad of shows wowed us with clever placements — although more and more of them are catalog songs. The Dropout made fine use of reintroducing Wolf Parade’s excellent “I’ll Believe In Anything,” an underappreciated track in its own time that caused a bit of furor among aging indie rock fans since it was released in 2005 and soundtracked a moment set in 2002. Author and showrunner Jenny Han turned in a pitch-perfect soundtrack with The Summer I Turned Pretty, packed with familiar hits from artists modern (Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Cardi B, and Kim Petras all made the first episode) and classic (Electric Light Orchestra, Edith Piaf, and the Pussycat Dolls appear throughout the season). Season 2 of Euphoria dug deeper than most and made us all fall in love with Gerry Rafferty’s 1978 not totally forgotten hit “Right Down The Line” and Sinead O’Connor’s 1987 deep cut “Drink Before The War” by embedding them into pivotal lives of the characters. Derry Girls took us back to the late ‘90s with an emotional Fatboy Slim-soundtracked episode. The Bear and Station Eleven provided fantastic music moments for dad rock. Stranger Things gave us justice for Kate Bush.

TV in 2022 dealt a lot of wins to the well-known artists of the current generation and the forgotten hits of the near and not-so-near past — no doubt Rafferty and O’Connor had to scramble to get official versions of those songs up on YouTube to cash in, just as Spotify had to scramble to get them featured on some playlists. And a lot of songs that hit the sweet spot after a TV placement go on to viral success elsewhere — the number of TikToks suddenly throwing Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” on a video about the best places to eat in a random city or relationship advice was through the roof, and more than a little weird. It feels like, for the past several years now, TV has been running to the catalog instead of trying to break new artists. The Sex Lives Of College Girls and She-Hulk may have done the most to feature new artists, with soundtracks heavily focused on the hottest and newest from Gen Z and contemporary women in hip-hop, respectively. Although neither has quite had the cultural capital to create a breakthrough moment for a new artist. If, as The Guardian suggested earlier this year, “syncs (industry terminology for music used in shows) are becoming a bigger part of the music industry than ever,” aren’t we missing a massive opportunity for syncs to break artists?

It would seem that another amazing outlet for syncs for newer, emerging musicians would be reality TV. The genre has garnered quite a lot of buzz in the past year for its soundtracks, especially on the splashy Netflix shows. When Selling Sunset dropped, all we wanted to know was where all this comically bad “girlboss” music came from — and the show leaned all the way into that genre in season 2, which dropped in two parts this year. One of the songwriters told Buzzfeed, “It’s been very funny to watch Twitter, and I feel like so many people have been talking about the music. They don’t understand that we know this is garbage.” And as another artist who creates a lot of reality TV music told Mashable, “This music is so hilarious, so funny to create, but at the same time, yes, it’s so dumb some of the time.”

It’s the same story in the universe of Real Housewives, The Kardashians, the cooking competition genre on the Food Network, and the full constellation of Netflix reality shows. Why is so much of this music trash?

In short, most reality shows are set up to use music libraries rather than license actual music. The Hollywood Reporter gracefully broke down how that process works in an interview with former Laguna Beach and The Hills showrunner Adam DiVello, the current showrunner for Selling Sunset. Twenty-ish years ago, when he was working on the MTV shows, the network had it in their licensing agreements with labels that it was allowed to use any song a video was submitted for in the soundtrack of their shows for a minimal fee. As major label groups renegotiated, and indie labels objected because they were getting a lot more money from The OC and Grey’s Anatomy, it became more than the budget of a reality show could bear to license real music. So, the network began creating a music library. And it set the tone for the whole industry: now using libraries that license what’s known as bed music. And as time has gone on, it’s become more and more common for these unknown library artists to get prime placements and long needle drops (industry speak for when a song plays) in reality shows.

Those extended placements have bands and labels hungry again. Polygon noted that Coldplay got in on the Love Is Blind season 3 action this year, licensing their song “Biutyful” partly because the show does such long needle drops. The Kardashians will license a track from the Billboard Hot 100 from time to time, which has been the blueprint of their reality history from nearly the beginning. But otherwise, we’re getting a bunch of music that’s cheesy on purpose to soundtrack TV that executives like and continue to green light because the production budget is so low.

Musicians lose on all fronts in this scenario. Those library artists who create tracks earn a flat fee for licensing their music, and it can be as low as hundreds of dollars for a use — or even one dollar. If the show airs on cable or network TV, they can collect money from the performing rights organization (PRO) that represents them, with fees in the low thousands, depending on when and on what network it aired and for what duration. But that’s not enough — it’s nowhere near the tens or hundreds of thousands that music licensed through a label or agency would cost. And we have yet to see a career launched from a reality TV show placement. If it’s not creating social cache and delivering anything to the discourse — and we all think it’s kind of dumb — what is the point?

This model is also not doing any favors for working-class musicians. And is it just happening because production companies are being cheap? It’s time to ratchet up the budget, take a chance on some up-and-coming artists, and make some careers.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Megan Thee Stallion Is Fed Up With Nancy From ‘Stranger Things’ For Her Treatment Of Steve

There are few things that rile up avid television series watchers like a back-and-forth love story. It is almost impossible not to pick a side, but it is also inevitable to experience disappointment. Yesterday, Megan Thee Stallion had the opportunity to put Stranger Things actress Natalie Dyer on the hot seat about her character Nancy’s treatment of Steve, as Dyer stopped by the Grammy winner’s specially co-hosted episode of The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.

“You just kind of, like, dumped him. No caution, he didn’t know what was happening. Poor Steve,” Megan said in reference to how Nancy left Steve and then began dating Jonathan, the victim of his bullying. “He keeps saving y’all life. All he do is save y’all life. He was beating everybody up, saving – and you’re like ‘Aw man, I’m goin’ to Jonathan, sorry.”

Dyer took some accountability for her character, admitting to a proclivity to make bad choices. This is especially true as the “Plan B” artist pointed out that Nancy has recently been reconnecting with Steve, and it just so happens to be while Jonathan is out of town. When Fallon later questioned what Nancy should actually do in the situation, Dyer said “Everyone’s, you know, Stancy, Jancy – but I think, honestly, she just probably needs a little, like, me-time after all of that, right?” in reference to her experiences with the antagonist Vecna.

There weren’t actually any hard feelings, but it was clear how invested Megan Thee Stallion was in the show. The passion carries over to the music as she has now released her sophomore album Traumazine led by the singles “Plan B,” “Sweetest Pie” with Dua Lipa, and “Pressurelicious” with Future.

Check out the Tonight Show clip above.

Noah Schnapp Still Has Love For Doja Cat After Their Interaction: ‘I’m Like The Biggest Fan Of Her Music’

By now, everyone’s sick of hearing about Doja Cat’s interaction with Noah Schnapp, including the stars themselves. While the idea of Doja contacting the 17-year-old Stranger Things actor for his co-star Joseph Quinn’s info has been polarizing, Schnapp revealed to Variety that the two have since made up since their squabble.

“I’m super unserious on social media and pretty goofy,” Schnapp said, “so I posted that not thinking too much of it, but obviously it hurt her feelings. So, as I should, I apologized and she was totally okay with it, and was like, ‘I’m sorry how I reacted.’ It was all good. I love her. I’m like the biggest fan of her music, and I told her that. I was like, you’re literally my role model. It’s all good. People make such a big deal out of everything when it’s on the internet, but, like, in reality, it’s like a two-minute thing.”

Doja has kept fairly quiet on social media since Schnapp shared screenshots of the conversation, however, not before calling him out on Instagram Live, saying, “That’s like borderline snake sh*t. That’s like weasel sh*t. I’m not saying that encapsulates his entire personality. I wouldn’t imagine he is. Maybe he is, like, a whole snake. But I didn’t see him that way. I made an assumption that he was gonna be chill about it and he went and shared information that I didn’t feel comfortable with him sharing.”

Stranger Things will return for a fifth and final season at a yet-to-be-specified date.

Why Do Some People Care So Much About Doja Cat DMing Noah Schnapp For Joseph Quinn’s Contact Info?

Today, Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp confirmed in an interview with Variety that his character on the show, Will Byers, is canonically gay and in love with his best friend, Mike Wheeler, who’s played by Finn Wolfhard. Exactly no one was surprised. If you say you are, you’re in worse denial than Alexander the Great (ba-dum-tss). But I can’t help but suspect that the timing is a little… too convenient. After all, Schapp has spent the last week on Twitter’s trending topics for another awkward romantic entanglement, and something like this seems like just the tidbit to get everybody to stop talking about that.

Unfortunately for Noah, he’s failed because I was already working on this essay and I’ll be damned if I have to delete a draft because someone out there in the Stranger Things audience can’t read a blinking, bright red sign three feet in front of their faces. The other failed love connection to which I refer is, of course, the somehow controversial DM from Doja Cat to Schnapp asking him to throw her a lob to Joseph Quinn, who plays metalhead rebel Eddie Munson in the show’s recently debuted fourth season. If, for some reason, you have been kept enviably out of the loop for the past week, here’s a recap:

Last week, Schnapp posted an amusing TikTok about his encounter with the “Kiss Me More” singer, sharing a screenshot of their DM conversation in which Doja asks him to tell Quinn to “hmu.” When Noah advises Doja Cat to DM Joseph directly, she asks for just a tad more help, since she can’t seem to find him online. Noah obliges, directing her to Joe’s Instagram. All’s well that ends well, right? Well, it seems Doja Cat took issue with Noah sharing the screenshot, calling his video “socially unaware and wack” during an Instagram Live a couple of days later.

Maybe Doja felt embarrassed, or maybe she just wanted the kid to reconsider sharing screenshots of private conversations without permission — a concept much of the internet has had trouble grasping in recent years, to be fair. She did preface her statement by allowing that Schnapp is just 17 years old and therefore prone to missteps, but despite her asking folks to “be chill about it,” this is, again, the internet we’re talking about here. It didn’t take long for the Twitter Hot Take Machine to decide that Doja was the villain in this story and spent a few days castigating Doja for DMing a 17-year-old in the first place, resulting in the loss (supposedly) of 200,000 followers, and an apology from Noah Schnapp himself.

And now, here’s my hot take:

Absolutely no one should care about any of this. To be blunt, Doja Cat’s romantic life is no one’s business but hers unless she says otherwise (hence, her reaction to Noah sharing that screenshot). But once the thing was out there, it could have and should have just remained a funny story confined to a slow news day’s blog posts and perhaps maybe a quirky story for Doja and/or Noah and/or Joseph to share at parties. Instead, it’s become a referendum on … something. To be fair, in cases of outsized backlashes like this one, you can usually backtrace the inception to pop music stans and their endless, petty power games about whose fave is the best.

And Doja Cat has certainly put herself in those crosshairs before. It’s a rule of the internet that once you’ve had one manufactured Twitter scandal, you are certain to accumulate more for as long as you remain famous enough to have stans (and stans who hate your stans. It’s a whole headache, to be honest). She could have ducked this whole situation entirely had she just done the same thing she did in the first place and contacted Schnapp privately about the breach of etiquette. But, honestly, people, let’s all just relax. We live in a very online society that grows increasingly online by the day. DMing one person to get another person’s info is probably a thing that happens quite a bit, we just don’t hear about it because those people aren’t famous (and nobody shares the screenshots).

We don’t have to have opinions on everything, and certainly not on some celebrity’s misfired attempt to get their crush. There are far more important things going on in the world right now (to wit: A growing housing crisis, cripplingly rising inflation, a baby formula shortage, shortages of dozens of other products as supply chains continue to be interrupted, the looming end of bodily autonomy in the US, and oh yeah, that pandemic that still hasn’t fully gone away). Maybe I’m just an old man shaking his fist at the sky here, but the strangest thing about this situation is that we aren’t devoting all this passion toward addressing those real problems.