Millie Bobby Brown has been famous for more than ten years now, but she is finally figuring out how to deal with all the attention that has followed her since she was a kid.
In a new episode of Jay Shetty’s ‘On Purpose‘ podcast, the 22-year-old actress talked about all the criticism she went through as a teenager, especially people’s obsession with how she looked and the intense standards she was held to.
Millie Bobby Brown on Public Perception and Walking Contradictions of Her Critics

Brown, who became famous playing Eleven on Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things‘, talked about how confusing and painful it was to grow up with everyone watching her. She said things got really bad when she was 15, which was when people started talking about her appearance more and more, and it really bothered her.
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“The things that didn’t help me, my goodness. I would say public perception doesn’t help,” Brown told Shetty. “Growing up hearing the way people think about you constantly. I think I was 15 when people started saying I looked like a 60-year-old woman…” She talked about how the criticism was always contradicting itself, and no matter what she did, it felt like she could not win. “I would wear a big heel and people would say, ‘My goodness who does she think she is?’ But then I would wear a suit and people would rip me apart for looking too old,” she said. Eventually, she realized that the people criticizing her did not even have real opinions. “None of you actually have an opinion. You’re all kind of like robots.”
Millie Bobby Brown Refuses to Apologize for Growing Up and Becoming a Woman

This podcast interview comes after Brown made a strong statement back in March 2025, when she posted a long video talking about the “bullying” she got from tabloids and people on social media. In that video, she called out people for not accepting that she was growing up. “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,” she wrote.
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Brown has been clear that she is not going to feel bad about growing up. “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,” she said. Speaking up was her way of protecting herself.
Later, when she looked back on the video that went viral, she admitted it was “scary” but something she had to do. She also said it really connected with a lot of young women. “It’s not just for people in the industry, it’s for young girls all over the world who feel like they are targeted or harassed at times for the way they look or the way they present themselves.”
Millie Bobby Brown on Developing Thicker Skin and Speaking Out Now

Now that she is 22, Brown says she has thicker skin and sees the criticism differently. She thinks it is part of a bigger problem where women, especially those who grow up in the public eye, are not allowed to just age naturally.
On Shetty’s podcast, she said she does not feel like she has to explain herself anymore. Her message is a good reminder that what people think about you does not define your worth. “I realized that if I’m not going to say it … and I’m never going to find a good time to say it, then why wait and just do it now?” she said.
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