Millie Bobby Brown on online fame and bullying: "Who do they need me to be for them?"
Millie Bobby Brown has already spent years coping with the intense pressures of fame, ever since taking on the role of Eleven in Netflix's 'Stranger Things'. In the past, the 18-year-old star has been transparent about how she handles life in the spotlight and its downsides (example: the hypersexualization she's been subjected to since coming of age). However, in her September cover interview for Allure, Brown candidly explains how people's perception of her has impacted how she sees herself.
"It helped me understand that I don't have to be what they said I had to be."
"It's really hard to be hated when you don't know who you are yet," she told the outlet. "So it's like, 'What do they hate about me? Because I don't know who I am.' It's almost like, 'Okay, I'm going to try to be that today.' [And then they say], 'Oh, no, I hate that'... you start shutting up because you're like, 'Who am I supposed to be? Who do they want me to be for them?""
For Brown, much of the downside to fame stems from the bullying she's experienced on social media — which includes threats, hate posts and NSFW ratings from older men. In the cover story, Brown revealed that she doesn't have any social media apps on her phone and that her Facebook and Instagram pages are run by someone else (she previously deleted Twitter and TikTok). Now the only way for her to communicate directly with her fans is through blog posts, mainly because, she says, "nobody can comment."
In addition to therapy, Brown said her family and friends have also helped her feel more comfortable being herself in the public eye. "It helped me understand that I don't have to be what they said I had to be," she added in her interview. "I just have to grow in myself. That's what I did, that's what I do."
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Millie Bobby Brown has already spent years coping with the intense pressures of fame, ever since taking on the role of Eleven in Netflix's 'Stranger Things'. In the past, the 18-year-old star has been transparent about how she handles life in the spotlight and its downsides (example: the hypersexualization she's been subjected to since coming of age). However, in her September cover interview for Allure, Brown candidly explains how people's perception of her has impacted how she sees herself.
"It helped me understand that I don't have to be what they said I had to be."
"It's really hard to be hated when you don't know who you are yet," she told the outlet. "So it's like, 'What do they hate about me? Because I don't know who I am.' It's almost like, 'Okay, I'm going to try to be that today.' [And then they say], 'Oh, no, I hate that'... you start shutting up because you're like, 'Who am I supposed to be? Who do they want me to be for them?""
For Brown, much of the downside to fame stems from the bullying she's experienced on social media — which includes threats, hate posts and NSFW ratings from older men. In the cover story, Brown revealed that she doesn't have any social media apps on her phone and that her Facebook and Instagram pages are run by someone else (she previously deleted Twitter and TikTok). Now the only way for her to communicate directly with her fans is through blog posts, mainly because, she says, "nobody can comment."
In addition to therapy, Brown said her family and friends have also helped her feel more comfortable being herself in the public eye. "It helped me understand that I don't have to be what they said I had to be," she added in her interview. "I just have to grow in myself. That's what I did, that's what I do."
Image source:
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