Power dynamics between famous people are often analyzed and critiqued online by fans. For instance, when a celebrity is in an age-gap relationship, you better believe there will be a cacophony of discourse surrounding the ethics of this decision. This analysis of singers and actors' personal lives is nothing new, but the dawn of social media has allowed for even more visibility, which can lead to some ethically questionable situations.
Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp posted a screenshot of an Instagram DM pop star Doja Cat sent him. Doja Cat was interested in pursuing his castmate Joseph Quinn but could not find his Instagram.
Doja had publically expressed her interest in Joeseph Quinn before Noah had posted this screenshot.
In response to Noah's TikTok, Doja criticized his choice to publically share their messages.
There was a large outpour of support for Noah, with many fans saying that it was inappropriate for a 26-year-old to reach out to a 17-year-old for contact information for a romantic interest.
However, there was a camp of people defending Doja, who eventually made a statement on the controversy.
I don't know if there's any clear good guy or bad guy in this scenario. Hopefully, Noah takes this as a lesson that just because you have a humorous interaction with someone online does not mean that it's okay to share it with the general public. Yes, he is a minor, but being a minor doesn't mean you're not responsible for your actions. Additionally, not all interactions including an adult and a minor are inherently predatory or weird. There are many instances of people abusing this power dynamic, but the existence of a power dynamic doesn't necessarily mean there's an abuse of power. That is a difference that is lost on many young Twitter users today.