In yet another example of how social media is as much a curse as it is a boon, Stranger Things actress and anti-bullying advocate Millie Bobby Brown was forced to leave Twitter following a series of homophobic memes which surfaced online.
It seems to have begun way back in November 2017 with a handle called @KelsFiona but it morphed into something else altogether this time around. Mashable reports that @KelsFiona had tweeted in 2017 about how the 14-year-old had snatched her hijab – a lie that was immediately called out by netizens who observed that the woman didn’t wear a hijab in the first place. @KelsFiona replied that that was because “she ripped it off me”.
It 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
Thankfully, the handle was suspended by Twitter and the tweet was deleted but not before the hashtag #TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown came into being. And as it often unfortunately happens, fake Snapchats, memes and stories about Brown began surfacing on the micro-blogging site.
i think it’s time i share my #TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown story… i was at my local starbucks, and milky boobie brown comes in so i asked her for a picture. then she PEES in my drink! then she called me a “fat chicken dyke” and put a straw in my nose! i’ve never been so ashamed.
— Laurane 🙂 (@Laurie________) June 5, 2018
I finally have the courage to tell MY #TakeDownMillieBobbyBrown story. I went to my local Home Depot when I saw Millie walk in. I asked her for a photo. She proceeded to yell “FUCK YOU REPTILIAN DYKE” and shoved an electric saw up my vagina. I’ve never been the same. Please,help.
— 「 mae 」 (@guccinooses) June 10, 2018
What may have started out as a ‘harmless joke’ went way out of control. It is a known fact that people often take everything see or read on social media to be the gospel truth. Fake news is one of the biggest epidemics affecting the social media world and this time, it was Brown who had to take the fall.
On Wednesday, Mashable reports, Brown posted a selfie on her Instagram story with the caption “good vibes only”. If only certain cruel netizens would take her advice and stop spreading hate online.