Have you ever wondered why celebrities like Taylor Swift -- who entered the spotlight young and have grown up in front of cameras -- rarely make drastic changes to their appearance? Their "signature look" tends to stick around as the years pass by. Millie Bobby Brown might be a good example of what tends to happen when child stars dress and act their age.
Brown recently received criticism for the way she looked on red carpets -- but not because she was wearing anything particularly revealing or acting disrespectful toward anyone. She simply failed to match the appearance of her younger self, and for some reason, that was hard to stomach for a lot of people.
In a recent Instagram video, the actor called these "critics" out for their comments about her appearance. "They act like I'm supposed to stay frozen in time," she said, "like I should still look the way I did on Stranger Things season one. And because I don't, I'm now a target."
Brown is 21, not the literal child she was when Stranger Things first premiered on Netflix almost 10 years ago in 2016. She is also a married woman, having dated her now-husband for several years before getting engaged. Being in the spotlight means people are going to scrutinize your every move. But to not allow someone to look and act their age because you watched them when they were a child on TV is a bit weird, don't you think?
This happens all the time, of course -- usually exclusively when we're not talking about men. A fully grown adult former child star will be photographed in an age-appropriate outfit, get married, have a baby, and that's somehow unacceptable in everyone's minds. "She's a baby -- she can't have a baby!" Except they can, because they're an adult, and chances are so are you.
It's hard enough coming of age as a woman, and it's impossible to image what it's like when it's happening to someone known by face and name around the world. Aging is not a sin; acting like you're in your 20s when you're in your 20s is not a crime. Someone looking older than their younger self on a red carpet is not news, and we need to do better. All of us.