Millie Bobby Brown, 17, is an Emmy-nominated actress lauded for her performances in film and television. The « Stranger Things » star rose to fame at …
Millie Bobby Brown,17, is an Emmy-nominated actress lauded for her performances in film and television. The « Stranger Things » star rose to fame at just 12 years old and has spent the better part of her adolescence in the public eye. But while her childhood has been full of accolades, it has also been rife with media scrutiny, online bullying and repeated sexualization. The latest affront involves TikTok star Hunter Ecimovic,21, who claimed during a livestream this week that he’d sexually “groomed” Brown, making a series of lewd comments about the young actress and employing a term that sexual violence experts say describes behaviors perpetrators use to lay the groundwork for abuse. USA TODAY was unable to identify a representative for Ecimovic, whose Instagram and Twitter accounts have been disabled. TikTok only allows direct messaging between friends. It was an egregious violation, and given the age difference sparked outrage on social media in defense of Brown, who has previously opened up about the toll hypersexualization and online hate have taken on her life. It’s unclear if Brown and Ecimovic (who goes by Hunter Echo on TikTok and boasts 1.6 million followers) were ever in a relationship, though representatives for the actress called Ecimovic’s remarks « dishonest, » « offensive » and « hateful » and said they would move to take action against him rather than engage on social media. Whether there’s any truth to Ecimovic’s claims, his livestream continues the trend of sexualizing a girl who until recently was considered under the age of consent in most states. At 13, Brown was put on W magazine’s list of « Why TV Is Sexier Than Ever » and grown men online have frequently commented on her looks. A GQ profile from 2016 called her a « very grown-up child » and remarked on the appearance of her legs. On social media, users lambasted Ecimovic for sexualizing a minor and condemned the public for its complicity in normalizing a culture that infuses young girls with adult sexuality while consequently punishing them for it. « It’s all the more disturbing because of the fact that she is so young and has been sexualized from such an early age, » said Laura Palumbo, communications director at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
