BY: DM
Published 15 minutes ago
A viral tweet tried it, but the receipts don’t back it up. Over the weekend, a parody X (formerly Twitter) account claimed Millie Bobby Brown donated $1 million to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Brown has been a magnet for shady memes and online jokes since her early teens, especially during Pride Month in 2018. And while the internet loves a shocking screenshot, but the truth rarely moves as fast. If you’re wondering whether Brown actually made that donation as a joke, she did not.
What started the rumor about Millie Bobby Brown?
The rumor started with @DropPopNet, a parody pop-culture account. Its profile states, “all content is satirical and not factual.” On Oct. 26, the post drew tens of thousands of likes and spread through screenshots and Reels. The bio makes the joke clear, and outlets that traced the origin confirmed the claim was fabricated. There’s no credible evidence Brown donated $1 million to LGBTQIA+ groups, and the supposed quote about “a cure” is not real.
Brown has consistently aligned herself against bullying and in support of queer fans and storylines. In 2018, after a wave of homophobic memes used her image to spread slurs, she left Twitter. She then used her MTV Movie & TV Awards acceptance speech to denounce harassment. “There should be no space in this world for bullying, and I’m not going to tolerate it and neither should any of you,” Brown said. “If you need a reminder of how worthy you are, and to rise above the hate, message me on Instagram.”
The 2018 pile-on didn’t come out of nowhere. The “Millie is homophobic” meme circulated as a cruel in-joke, according to Variety. Users would place homophobic statements on photos of Millie, leaving many to believe she made or agreed with the messages. However, all of this was proven to be false, as the “Stranger Things” star has never made anti-LGBTQIA+ remarks.
“Stranger Things” is filled with LGBTQIA+ representation.
Brown is clearly an ally, and her work and professional circles are proof of this. Representation isn’t a background detail in “Stranger Things” — it’s a key part of several storylines. Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) came out as a lesbian in Season 3 during a scene with Steve Harrington. Will Byers’ sexuality unfolded more slowly on screen, but Noah Schnapp, who plays him, later confirmed the character is gay — and came out himself in January 2023.
“Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself,” Schnapp told Variety. “I would be in a completely different place if I didn’t have Will to portray, and to embrace and help me accept myself. I think if I never played that character, I probably would still be closeted.”
Beyond Hawkins, Brown has grown up in the public eye. According to People magazine, she married Jake Bongiovi in a small family ceremony in May 2024, which Jon Bon Jovi confirmed. Later that year, she adopted a daughter.
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