Duffers Defend Stranger Things Will Scene — Variety Reframes Measured Comments as Strike Against “Toxic Fans”

The creators of Stranger Things, the Duffer brothers, have been explaining their intentions behind the scene where Will Byers comes to terms with his sexuality. However, much of the discussion hasn’t focused on their explanation itself, but rather on how news outlets have presented it.

Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of the show, recently explained their choice to include Will Byers’ coming out scene near the end of the series in an interview with Variety. However, Variety’s reporting framed the conversation as a disagreement with critical fans, and used strong language about negative online reviews—terms the Duffers didn’t actually use themselves. While the creators discussed their intentions and the acting thoughtfully, the headline and overall story presented it as a more contentious situation.

Variety’s Headline Sets the Tone

Variety published the interview under the headline:

The creators of “Stranger Things” have spoken out to support Will Byers’ coming out scene and addressed the negative backlash it received from some fans. They described the criticism as a deliberate attempt to undermine the show, framing it as a symbolic rejection of the series’ villain, Vecna.

Even before Matt and Ross Duffer speak, the show frames negative fan reactions as harmful “review bombing” and “toxicity,” suggesting the creators are directly addressing and challenging viewers’ concerns.

Those labels were added by the editors at Variety, not used by the Duffer Brothers to describe who they make the show for.

What the Duffers Actually Said

The Duffer Brothers said they mainly concentrated on how the story was built, making the characters feel real, and Noah Schnapp’s acting.

Ross Duffer explained the intent behind the moment.

We’d been working towards Noah’s coming out for nine years, and it was a pivotal moment for both the story and its overall themes. It was incredibly important to us that this scene felt meaningful and impactful.

He then explained how the scene fit into the show’s overall story, emphasizing that it wasn’t meant to be a message for the audience.

The show has always focused on its characters battling against negativity. Vecna, in many ways, embodies the darkness and evil present in the world around us. To defeat that, the characters need to accept who they are and support each other.

Matt Duffer echoed that sentiment, describing Will’s arc as foundational to the season’s structure.

He explained that this moment marked the culmination of Will’s story, and Will himself is crucial to stopping Vecna.

Regardless of your opinion on what they said, it’s clear this isn’t the big, confrontational fight with fans that Variety is portraying it to be.

“The Ultimate F— You to Vecna” — Not the Audience

In a recent interview with Variety, Matt Duffer explained that a particular scene was deliberately created as a defiant act against the villain, Vecna. He described it as their way of directly challenging him.

The original quote clearly refers to a character within the story – the villain – and not to people who didn’t like a particular scene. But when Variety used the quote as a headline, they presented it as being about negative online reviews from fans, shifting the focus from the villain to the audience themselves.

Pride in the Performance, Not Condemnation of Viewers

Instead of reacting defensively to the criticism, the Duffer brothers consistently highlighted their support and admiration for Noah Schnapp.

Ross Duffer expressed his satisfaction with the episode and a particular scene, praising Noah’s incredibly brave and emotionally open performance.

Matt Duffer similarly stressed that their priority was the actor’s comfort.

We wanted him to feel relaxed and pleased with how things were going. Once he did, we were satisfied with the result.

These comments are meant to explain an artistic decision and support the performer, not to blame the audience.

Where Variety’s Framing Goes Further

Variety’s writing often uses biased language that isn’t actually criticism coming directly from the creators, the Duffers.

For example, the article states: “But still, even in 2025, the online hate surprised them.”

Later, Matt Duffer responds to a directly framed question.

“No is the honest truth,” he says when asked whether he’d anticipated the “homophobic backlash.”

It’s important to note that the interviewer, not the show’s creators, first used the phrase “homophobic backlash.” This is a key difference because responding to a question that assumes a certain reason isn’t the same as stating that reason on your own.

Audience Scores and Criticism

According to Variety, the latest episode caused a drop in Season 5’s audience score on Rotten Tomatoes to 56%. Episode 7, “The Bridge,” received a rating of just 5.6 out of 10, making it the lowest-rated episode ever, based on around 96,000 reviews.

The article interprets the large number of negative reactions as “review bombing,” but it doesn’t consider that controversial stories, particularly in a final episode, often generate a lot of discussion – both positive and negative.

A Framing Problem, Not a Creator-Fan War

If you just look at what the Duffers said, they were simply explaining their creative choices and praising an actor’s performance. The idea that this was a conflict with demanding fans came from how Variety reported the story, not from the creators themselves.

The most critical reactions to the Will Byers storyline aren’t coming from the creators, the Duffer Brothers, but from media outlets. These outlets are interpreting the Duffer Brothers’ statements based on a tendency to view any fan disagreement as unacceptable behavior rather than simply a difference of opinion.

This key difference is the main source of the debate, and Variety‘s reporting doesn’t really address it.

2026-01-02 16:59