Millie Bobby Brown Responded To Tabloids Saying "She Looks 40," And This Conversation Should Make Everyone Furious

Note: This post is an Op-Ed and shares the author's personal views.

In January, I covered Millie Bobby Brown's response to online trolls criticizing her appearance in a Dec. 29 mirror selfie.

Millie responded, "Women grow!! Not sorry about it :)" on her Instagram stories, and I foolishly thought the unwarranted focus on her appearance would slow down. Damn, was I wrong!

As a fan of the Stranger Things actor, I was living for all her appearances during the 2025 awards season because the 21-year-old star was serving classic Hollywood beauty. But some of the conversation around these appearances was dreadful.

At the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Millie debuted her blonde hair in a peach Louis Vuitton and canary yellow diamond earrings. My opinion? She ate.

Millie arrived with her husband, Jake Bongiovi, in a floor-length Annie Ibiza dress and De Beers jewelry at the Los Angeles premiere of her Netflix movie The Electric State. And I thought she ate again.

Millie rocked another Annie Ibiza dress made from 1920s silver Egyptian fabric, and it felt (in my world) that the Enola Holmes star was stepping into a new era of high fashion and adult elegance. But, alas, I underestimated the negative cesspools of the internet that try to find something wrong with one of the most immaculate press tour appearances and fashion showcases of 2025.

Despite trying to bury my head under the sand, Millie faced very "disturbing" criticism of her appearance, with tabloids suggesting that she looked far older than her actual age.

In a lengthy IG video, Millie said, "I want to take a moment to address something that I think is bigger than just me, something that affects every young woman who grows up under public scrutiny."

"I think it's necessary to speak up about this. I started in this industry when I was 10 years old. I grew up in front of the world, and for some reason, people can't seem to grow with me. Instead, they act like I'm supposed to stay frozen in time, like I should still look the way I did on Stranger Things Season 1. And because I don't, I'm now a target."

The worst part of this negative discourse surrounding Millie's appearance was that it wasn't just coming from some faceless X account but actual media coverage.

"Let's talk about the articles, the headlines, the people who are so desperate to tear young women down," Millie said in the IG video. "'Why are Gen Zers like Millie Bobby Brown aging so badly?'... 'What has Millie Bobby Brown done to her face?'... 'Millie Bobby Brown mistaken for someone's mom as she guides younger sister Ava through LA.'"

"The fact that adult writers are spending their time dissecting my face, my body, my choices, it's disturbing. The fact that some of these articles are written by women? Even worse. We always talk about supporting and uplifting young women, but when the time comes, it seems easier to tear them down for clicks," Millie continued.

"Disillusioned people can't handle seeing a girl become a woman on her terms, not theirs. I refuse to apologize for growing up. I refuse to make myself smaller to fit the unrealistic expectations of people who can't handle seeing a girl become a woman.""I will not be shamed for how I look, how I dress, or how I present myself. We have become a society where it's so much easier to criticize than it is to pay a compliment. Why is the knee-jerk reaction to say something horrible rather than to say something nice? If you have a problem with that, I have to wonder — what is it that actually makes you so uncomfortable? Let's do better. Not just for me, but for every young girl who deserves to grow up without fear of being torn apart for simply existing."

In a March 11 episode of Call Her Daddy with Alex Cooper, Millie spoke out against the tabloid media's criticism of her appearance more, saying the press "love to go on on me with certain things," like saying "that I look a lot older" or questioning her changing British accent.

"A thing that I get a lot is like, 'Oh my God, she looks like 40,'" Millie said. "And I'm like, well yeah, you did meet me when I was 10, so I understand. Now I'm 21, it's been 10 years. She grows. My face, like, grew. What do you want me to do about that?"

"I wish I could be like, 'You know what, it does get to me.' It used to get to me, it did… And I remember trying to change myself to please the masses," she said. "And actually now, I'm in a place where, yeah, my accent does change. My face does grow. I do wear a lot of makeup. It's just the kind of person I am."

While certain conflicted corners of the internet might want to indulge in bigotry, oppression, or derogatory discourse to appease the misguided regime, I'm going to chime in here with my thoughts.

Millie's 100% correct. She was only 10 years old when we were introduced to her in Stranger Things, so, of course, she looks different now.

The funny thing is that Millie and her castmates Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, and Caleb McLaughlin were all younger than 14 years old when we met them playing Dungeons and Dragons in a Hawkins, Indiana basement.

So, of course, they will look different 10 years later.

Yet, you don't see people dissecting every updo, piece of jewelry, or fabric on Millie's castmates' bodies, and that's for one apparent reason. How we discuss women in Hollywood is abhorrent. Full stop.

It's misogyny, and no matter how hard the bigoted overlords attempt to legitimize ignorance and discrimination, it will never be acceptable.

Millie's not the first, and unfortunately, won't be the last actor to face scrutiny over her changing appearance, even though it's basic science that a 10-year-old girl becoming a 21-year-old woman will involve some drastic changes in appearance.

If these critics were paying attention to the actual content of awards season like The Last Showgirl and The Substance instead of Millie's facial structure, they'd recognize they might be the villain in this real-life story.

I believe that social media and the accessibility to share our intrusive and abusive thoughts (sometimes with anonymity) have evolved the disgusting ways we discuss body image, primarily for femmes. Manosphere podcasts, locker room-talking presidents, and idolization of the lowest-common-denominator have people in Millie's comments bravely talking out of the side of their necks.

The fact the language of online trolls is reaching actual headlines is a sign that we need to speak up more than ever against hatred. I'm not asking you to become a superfan of Millie, but we have to drown out this rhetoric with respect and consideration for humanity. There's no role in a TV show, a dress on a red carpet, or a classic hairstyle that warrants negativity toward someone's appearance.

Besides, let's not pretend that in 2025, Millie Bobby Brown was doing anything but serving beauty and grace.

And that's all I have to say about that...for now.