Millie Bobby Brown says she feared walking down the street due to anxiety and online bullying

31 May 2022, 17:35

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By Katie Louise Smith

"Why do you think we walk down the street and are shaking because we’re terrified of you because we have anxiety because you give us anxiety..."

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Millie Bobby Brown is a superstar. She's a major star on one of the biggest TV shows in the world (Stranger Things), she's now a movie franchise producer (Enola Holmes), she's a UNICEF ambassador and she's a fierce champion for young kids and women all across the world.

On top of all that, Millie is also a mental health advocate and has spoken candidly about the impact that social media and online bullying has had on her own mental health.

In an interview for her Vogue Hong Kong cover shoot, Millie has now opened up about how she's changed the way she uses social media due to it affecting her anxiety so much, adding that it's really hard to see other young actors go through the same things she did.

Millie Bobby Brown opens up about leaving social media to protect her mental health. Picture: Cindy Ord/Getty Images, @milliebobbybrown via Instagram

"It was always really primarily social media and the media that would give me the most anxiety," Millie told the publication. "Being followed and having articles written about you when you are young is overwhelming."

Millie famously shot to overnight fame back in 2016 when Stranger Things was first released on Netflix. She was 12 years old at the time. As the seasons went on, and Millie grew up in the public eye, more and more people began talking about her – as well as constantly trolling and bullying her – on social media.

A few years ago, Millie deleted both her Twitter and TikTok accounts because of that exact reason.

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A post shared by Millie Bobby Brown (@milliebobbybrown)

"You have 5,000 adults telling you that you didn’t look good or why do you look too good? Or that you gained weight and I’m like, did I gain weight? Now I’m going to go on the scale and obsess over that for five weeks," she continued.

Millie, now 18, then went on to say that it's "really hard" to see other young actors go through the same things she's had to go through.

"It has to stop. These people are literally virtually bullying people every day," she adds. "And why do you think we don’t want to walk down the street anymore? Why do you think we walk down the street and are shaking because we’re terrified of you because we have anxiety because you give us anxiety, you know, it’s, it’s like going to school and being bullied again. It’s horrible."

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A post shared by Millie Bobby Brown (@milliebobbybrown)

Back in 2020, Millie shared an emotional Instagram Story with her fans after a distressing encounter with someone out in public. Through tears, Millie shared: "It just makes me upset when people try and push the boundary and I wish people were more respectful. I'm sill trying to navigate this all and it's still overwhelming."

In her interview with Vogue HK, Millie adds that she has stepped away from social media and no longer has any apps on her phone. In order to keep in touch with her fans, she works with her team so she can still engage with her followers.

Here's hoping that Millie can one day feel comfortable enough to return to social media and share more with her fans without being harassed or feeling anxious.