A new meme is on the rise: Homophobic Millie Bobby Brown. Fans of the 14-year-old Stranger Things star might be shocked to read a deluge of stories on Twitter about her confronting people with homophobia, Islamophobia, and other bigotry. They would be rightfully surprised; the stories aren’t real.
The meme appears to have started with a series of tweets on November 17, 2017, from now-suspended Twitter account @KelsFiona:
6. this iconic story from @KelseyFionaBich pic.twitter.com/x3sHYnHmKJ
— 𝐤𝐨𝐛𝐲 ♡ (@kobychill) February 18, 2018
In the replies to this now infamous tweet, the hashtag #TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown was born. It has burbled under the surface for the past several months, but Pride Month appears to have caused it to boil over. A quick look in the hashtag reveals stories of assault, verbal abuse, and even photoshopped images meant to appear as posts from her social media.
https://twitter.com/Igbtcapshaw/status/1005773645778702336
https://twitter.com/beerbongsnkias/status/1006737290624978944
https://twitter.com/oldfordfocus/status/1006888297707208705
https://twitter.com/milasaysyeehaw1/status/1005854615819243520
There’s a long, and often funny, history of posting fake quotes from celebrities on the internet. ClickHole has a whole section for it. The joke is to make the quote or story so ridiculous that it could not possibly be believed. Many Millie Bobby Brown fans seem to feel that because of her sweet nature, and past public support for GLAAD, these jokes fall into that category.
https://twitter.com/tearsfinn/status/1006285912530145281
the fact that gay twitter has collectively agreed to portray millie bobby brown as a raging homophobe is one of the funniest things on earth
— jár (@jarodzsz) June 7, 2018
However, others have taken issue with the meme. What started as clearly false stories has spiraled out into fake social media posts as well, which some may take as actual evidence of bigotry from the child star. In addition, its use of homophobia as a punchline, and the target being a literal kid, has drawn ire from many. The backlash increased when Brown deactivated her Twitter account on Tuesday, a move that some believe is in response to the hashtag.
https://twitter.com/annatjuhhx/status/1006918074187026432
Y’all aware that your “joke” about Millie bobby brown can be taken in many ways and it’s gotten to the point where she’s deleted her Twitter. I understand that it’s “just a joke,” but y’all need to learn when to stop because jokes can be so harmful sometimes
— el (@ellastaceyy) June 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/zunbarya/status/1006592242222542855
PopBuzz reported that the memes are now being removed from Instagram. So far, Twitter has yet to take similar steps, and based on its track record, is unlikely to do so.
H/T Buzzfeed News