Following in the footsteps of “Star Wars” actresses Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Train, who deleted their social media accounts after online abuse from fans of the series crossed the line, Millie Bobby Brown has deactivated her Twitter account.
The 14-year-old actress, known for her role as Eleven in the Netflix show “Stranger Things,” has not released a statement to accompany her deactivation, but it is easy to guess what prompted her Twitter disappearance.
In November 2017, a Twitter user with the handle @KelsFiona tweeted about meeting Brown in an airport and being hijab-shamed by her.
“I saw Millie Bobby Brown in the airport and asked for a pic and she said ‘only if you remove the hijab’ and I said ‘its my faith’ and she aggressively pulled it off my head and stamped on it” After another Twitter user observed that Fiona was not wearing a hijab in her profile picture, Fiona claimed it was because Brown “ripped it off [her].”
Many called out the story as obviously false, and Twitter suspended Fiona’s account, but it was the start of the ironic Twitter meme #TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown.
When you read the “stories” accompanying the hashtag, you can see how absolutely ridiculous the meme truly is. It primarily consists of stan and gay Twitter accounts recounting times when they met Brown and she was obscenely anti-gay and/or transphobic.
According to knowyourmeme.com, “#TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown is a hashtag cataloging a series of troll quotes and stories that are anti-gay, Islamophobic, offensive and insensitive in nature falsely accredited to Stranger Things Millie Bobby Brown.”
Soon after, the hashtag gained recognition and entered mainstream Twitter where, according to members of stan Twitter, the meme got out of hand. Stan Twitter members blamed the platform’s mainstream community for ruining what was once a good joke.
On June 13, Brown deactivated her Twitter account.
The meme was funny on an ironic level because Brown is clearly the opposite of what all these jokes make her out to be. She used to run an anti-bullying Twitter account, and she publicly supports “Stand with ACLU” and GLAAD’s “Together” campaigns (the latter of which is an LBGTQ advocacy group).
Be nice everyday. Kindness is the key to a happy life ♡
— Millie Bobby Brown (@Milliestopshate) December 9, 2017
The core problem with the situation is in Brown’s young age. She is only 14 years old, and something like this has the potential to negatively shape her future career and even her life. Brown’s job as an actress places her directly into the spotlight, and her fans often seemed to forget Brown’s true age. They attribute qualities to her that should belong only to an actual adult.
When it came out that Brown was dating Jacob Sartorius, her fans claimed that she should know better and should respect herself more. These harsh words were directed at a girl still in middle school.
Child actors tend to receive the brunt of criticism because their fans ascribe adult qualities to them. They talk about them as if they are adults, and the disappointment that is inspired when they simply act their age can spur vicious words.
