Stories of cyber-bullied celebs are more common than ever. After all, it was just last week that Star Wars actress Kelly Marie Tran deleted her Instagram, after enduring a year of racist and sexist abuse from fanboys, and in 2015 Iggy Izalea ditched social media after being body-shamed by followers. Now, Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown has found herself subject to Twitter trolls, who this week drove the actress off the platform. What’s particularly disturbing in this case, however, is that Brown is only 14-years-old.
The teen recently became the focus of a homophobic meme, accompanied by the hashtag #TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown, which falsely depicts the star as an angry, slightly murderous, bigot. If you weren’t already like, “WTF?” Wait until you actually see some of the posts making the rounds on social media.
it’s time to share my story. one day i saw millie bobby brown in the mall and i asked for a selfie and she said “i don’t take selfies with fags, homo sex is sin” and broke my iphone X. i couldn’t stop crying i’m so ashamed. #TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown
— bash (@HlGHPRlNCESS) November 18, 2017
Millie Bobby Brown pretending to be a man on Grindr so she can lure gays into her torture basement pic.twitter.com/4NoBjJKsDF
— Skin•ny (@quaketh) June 11, 2018
today, i went to target. i am blind and gay. i was walking around with my pride shirt when millie bobby brown came up to me. she said “kill all fags and spit in my mouth” and broke both of my legs. i am now unable to walk ever again.#TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown
— maya (@dirtaiy) June 9, 2018
The meme originated from members of the LGBT community, who created the posts as satire (not that that makes it ok). However, the jokes were quickly co-opted by Twitter trolls, who took it to the next level, throwing in Islamaphobic and ableist comments for good measure.
why are the straights joining in on the homophobic millie bobby brown meme this is a gays only event go home pic.twitter.com/jMOBbGXzLb
— 🍒 (@bitchyspic3) June 11, 2018
Fortunately, some good-hearted folks have come to the young star’s defence.
pretending millie bobby brown, a literal child, is a violent homophobe for memes is fucking disgusting and not funny at all. You are grown adults, editing photos of her with captions that include the f slur, violence against lgbt community for comedy and it’s fucking gross.
— caa (@zunbarya) June 12, 2018
unpopular opinion here but uhhhhh the homophobic millie bobby brown meme is fucking disgusting
— leia @ Disk Horse Hell (@bodhicha) June 10, 2018
In reality, Brown is a supporter of the LGBT community, and we hope she feels confident enough to return to the platform soon!
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Author: Sophie Lloyd
Sophie is a cute feminist butterfly navigating the world one kitty meme at a time, or at least that’s how her best friend described her when she asked for help writing this bio. She likes cheese and one day hopes to be the proud owner of a corgi. For more of her random ramblings, follow her on Twitter/Instagram @_sophofbread.
