The “Stranger Things” star didn’t let a vicious Twitter attack stop her from speaking out.
Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr.
Just days after deleting her Twitter account due to a viscous cyberbullying campaign, Millie Bobby Brown made an empowering speech at the MTV Movie and TV Awards on June 18.
The 14-year-old “Stranger Things” star wasn’t on hand for the event due to a knee injury, but she gave a pre-recorded acceptance speech in which she addressed the bullying.
“Since I know there are many young people watching this — and even for the adults, too — they could probably use the reminder that I was taught: If you don’t have anything nice to say, just don’t say it,” Brown said in the video. “There should be no space in this world for bullying, and I’m not going to tolerate it, and neither should any of you.”
\nAfter deactivating her Twitter for being made a homophobic meme, Millie Bobby Brown used her?? acceptance speech to address those who harassed her online: “There should be no space in this world for bullying, and I’m not going to tolerate it.”
— GirlReligion (@girlreligionco) June 19, 2018\n
pic.twitter.com/BqIfeLpJwg
Brown was singled-out by trolls after a viral tweet falsely accused her of ripping off a woman’s hijab at the airport.
\nIt started with this. Then she tweeted #takedownmilliebobbybrown which her followers jumped on and it became a full blown meme pic.twitter.com/AqDg04Vcwt
— j (@mydrugismybabe) June 10, 2018\n
This led to the #TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown campaign where Twitter users created hoax memes accusing her of vile acts of homophobic and Islamophobic behavior. The campaign was part of an ironic in-joke circulated among members of the LGBTQ community.
Image via Know Your Meme.
According to Vulture, “The joke here seems to be that it’s so wildly out of character and unbelievable for Millie Bobby Brown to act violently or intolerantly that presenting her as such makes people laugh.”
But there’s nothing funny about online harassment.
A 2016 report from the Cyberbullying Research Center indicates that 33.8% of students between 12 and 17 were victims of cyberbullying in their lifetime. Cyberbullying differs from schoolyard bullying in that it can happen any time of day and before a larger, digital audience.
Cyberbullying is known to lead to social withdrawal, poor performance in school, and, in extreme cases, suicide.
End Cyber Bullying is one organization trying to put a stop to online harassment by giving teens, parents, and educators the proper tools to combat bullying and build safer online communities. Its volunteers travel throughout the country to curb the spread of cyberbullying by setting up anti-bullying programs in schools.
For those in immediate harm, Stomp Out Bullying has a live chat that can help people dealing with online harassment.
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