US-Born Stranger Things Star Sparks Backlash for Cheering Canada at the Olympics
US-born Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp is facing backlash after cheering for Canada over the United States at Sunday’s Winter Olympics hockey game, wearing a Canadian jersey in the arena alongside his father despite holding dual citizenship.
Sports fandom loves a villain, and this weekend it decided Noah Schnapp was it. The Stranger Things star showed up to the Olympic hockey final in Milan wearing Canada red, and the internet did what it does best: it lost the plot.
What actually happened
On Sunday, February 22, at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, the U.S. men’s team beat Canada 2–1 to win Olympic gold. Big deal for Team USA: it is the program’s first gold since 1980. While that was going down, Schnapp, who was born in New York City but has dual U.S.-Canada citizenship, was in the building backing Canada. He wore the team’s red jersey and watched the game alongside his dad, Mitchell Schnapp.
Why everyone started yelling
Once cameras and fans spotted Schnapp in Canada gear, the online commentary flooded in from both sides of the border. Some U.S. fans lit him up for not backing the home team. One post went straight for the throat:
'He is exactly what is wrong with the US.'
Others kept it snarky with Stranger Things jokes:
'Still under control of the Mind Flayer, obviously. He likes it cold.'
There were also people trying to spin it into politics, and a healthy dose of petty from those happy he watched Canada lose. On the flip side, some Canada fans decided he was bad luck, calling him a jinx for the 2–1 result.
The context everyone pretended not to know
Schnapp has Canadian roots on both sides. His parents, Mitchell and Karine, are from Montreal, Quebec, and he holds passports for both countries. He has talked about his hockey allegiance before, naming the Montreal Canadiens as his favorite team back in 2017. So him rolling up to the gold medal game in Canada colors is about as shocking as... a Canadiens fan wearing a Canadiens jersey.
Plenty of folks pointed that out too, with more measured posts defending the idea that nationality and fandom do not always line up. One response kept it simple:
'You don’t have to be Canadian to support their team.'
Another called it cool that he showed up for his Canadian heritage even knowing it might annoy U.S. fans.
Bottom line
Team USA grabbed a historic gold. Canada came up short. And an actor with parents from Montreal wore a Canada jersey at a hockey game. The rest is noise, and the internet always supplies plenty of that.