Millie Bobby Brown felt “punished” for speaking out when she rose to fame.
The 19-year-old Stranger Things actress was trolled for getting excited during an interview after becoming internationally famous after playing Eleven in the hit Netflix show.
She told Glamor magazine, which named her one of the Women of 2023 along with 39-year-old actress America Ferrera, about her early conversations with her Stranger Things co-stars: “We’re kids—we talk over each other. I was just punished for talking too much, talking too loudly and talking too much.”
She recalls trolls accusing her of “trying to steal the glory” from her co-stars, and adults calling her an “idiot”, “stupid” and a “brat”.
Millie is engaged to rocker Jon Bon Jovi’s 21-year-old son Jake Bongiovi:
“It’s hard to hear that at 13 years old. You say, “I don’t ever want to talk again.” I don’t want to be a loud person.”
“In the interview, I couldn’t help but think about all the comments. So I just remembered that I needed to be silent and speak when they were talking to me, although I really wanted to join. I just felt like it wasn’t my turn.”
Millie was named Woman of the Year as she is an award-winning actress, beauty founder, producer, best-selling author and the youngest ever appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
She also runs her international beauty brand, Florence by Mills, and her production company already has success with the Enola Holmes franchise.
Millie added that her experience of criticism as a young star made her feel that children should not be judged.
She said: “You can’t talk about minor children. What I mean is that our brains haven’t physically grown yet. To reduce and virtually stop someone’s mental growth, strip them, say, “Hey, look, you don’t look that good.” Why are you wearing this? How dare you think you can wear this? How dare you say that?”