https://www.instagram.com/p/Bis2WjSA_ru/?taken-by=milliebobbybrown
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi8O73GgtxU/?taken-by=milliebobbybrown
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhRzBe4gE1O/?taken-by=milliebobbybrown
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgxoDw-gyaI/?taken-by=milliebobbybrown
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfcDfdkAdZV/?taken-by=milliebobbybrown
Millie Bobby Brown, 14, is most famous for her role as Eleven in Stranger Things. But right now the teenager is the center of a truly odd internet joke. People are joking that Brown has said homophobic slurs and putting fake anti-gay quotes overtop photos of her.
Brown has not taken a political stand against the LGBT+ community ever, in fact, she is actually an advocate for the community. So why are so many people creating a fake homophobic persona about Brown on Twitter?
https://twitter.com/dirtaiy/status/1005553548644552706
According to Know Your Meme, the homophobic Brown meme started in November 2017. Twitter user Kelsey Fiona sent out a series of tweet crafting a fake story about Brown being Islamophobic and racist. Her account has since been suspended and the tweets deleted, but screenshots are forever.
Fiona claimed that Brown wouldn’t take a photo with her because she was wearing a hijab. “I saw Millie Bobby Brown in the airport and asked for a pic and she said “only if you remove the hijab” and I said it’s my faith and she aggressively pulled it off my head and stamped on it,” Fiona tweeted.
The story is so obviously fake that users took it as being funny. Some thought the joke became funnier when Brown stans took Fiona’s tweets seriously. From there the #TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown was born where people shared fake stories about Brown being problematic. From there the tweets progressed to all being about homophobia.
https://twitter.com/Igbtcapshaw/status/1005773645778702336
Since then the hashtag has grown into a full-blown meme. The meme is picking up steam again because it’s pride month.
https://twitter.com/dirtaiy/status/1005553548644552706
https://twitter.com/emmasszn/status/1006396094778101765
The meme is seriously out of control. It’s so out of control that Brown deactivated her Twitter account. Fans believe it’s because of the homophobic memes.
The internet is a strange place where jokes don’t necessarily make sense. There is even a meme about how the internet has totally destroyed the quality of what is considered funny.
https://twitter.com/shangelasbox/status/1005812642131464192
Even if you chuckled at any of the above tweets you have to remember that Brown is a 14-year-old child. It’s disturbing and could ruin her reputation if someone who isn’t familiar with the meme sees it.
https://twitter.com/zunbarya/status/1006592242222542855
At the MTV Movie and TV Awards in 2017, Brown wore a blue ribbon recognizing the ACLU and a light blue ampersand pin to honor the GLAAD Together movement. She wore both political pins while accepting her best actor award. This isn’t the only time Brown has gotten political.
She’s also worked with UNICEF and anti-bullying organizations. The 14-year-old is an avid support of March For Our Lives and wore a denim jacket with the names of all the kids who were killed in the Parkland School shooting.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgumG9lAoW_/?taken-by=milliebobbybrown
Brown hasn’t made a statement as to why she deactivated her Twitter or on the problematic memes.