‘Stranger Things’ Star Millie Bobby Brown Addresses Bullying After Her Exit on Twitter
After injuring her kneecap, Millie Bobby Brown was absent from the MTV Movie and TV awards but made sure to send a message about bullying after she won her award for Best Performance in a Show.
Since Brown could not attend, she videotaped her acceptance speech and while expressing gratitude towards her fans she also added in a message to her bullies. “Since I know there are many young people watching this and even to the adults, too. I was taught, if you don’t have anything nice to say, just don’t say it.” She went on to add, “There should be no space in this world for bullying, and I’m not going to tolerate it and neither should any of you. If you need a reminder of how well you are and to rise above the hate, message me on Instagram.”
Brown recently became a victim of an online twitter joke with people using photos of her to make homophobic memes and starting the hashtag #TakeDownMilliebobbybrown. The meme surfaced last year when Twitter user @KelsFiona falsely accused Brown of snatching her hijab at the airport. Even though @KelsFiona tweet has since been deleted, Brown started to become the face of homophobic memes.
I finally have the courage to tell MY #TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown story. I went to my local Home Depot when I saw Millie walk in. I asked her for a photo. She proceeded to yell “FUCK YOU REPTILIAN DYKE” and shoved an electric saw up my vagina. I’ve never been the same. Please,help.
— angel (@m0thfather) June 10, 2018
Millie Bobby Brown pretending to be a man on Grindr so she can lure gays into her torture basement https://t.co/4NoBjJKsDF
— kevin/eat hot chip and lie (@quaketh) June 11, 2018
No one knows why Brown was targeted to become to face of this meme, but Brown has stated that she is a supporter of gay rights. However, the popularity of the meme took a toll on the young actress and decided to deactivate her Twitter and disable her comments on Instagram.
After her deactivation on Twitter, people started to debate rather it was right to make Brown apart of a meme that was so offensive. Some defended the meme saying it was only supposed to be a joke among the LGBTQ community while others say it was harmful to portray a 14-year-old as a violent homophobe.
https://twitter.com/bitchyspic3/status/1006249685680574464
https://twitter.com/gubbIebum/status/1006592242222542855
Brown isn’t the first celebrity to leave Twitter because of cyberbullying. Back in 2016, Leslie Jones, a comedian and star on SNL, left twitter because of racist twitter memes and recently Kelly Marie Tran, an actress known for her role in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, also left social media due to hateful and racist comments under her Instagram page.
Though Brown has deleted her main Twitter page, her other Twitter page @Milliestophate still is up and stated she made the account to stop others from getting bullied. “I want this account to share love and positivity. let’s stop bullying.”
