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"Stranger Things" kids speak out about sexualization and harassment

With season two of the hit original Netflix series, “Stranger Things,” being released last month, the attention the supernatural thriller has gained has forced the child stars to denounce the sexualization and harassment they have received from social media and press.

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Since the release of season one last summer, the talented cast of child actors have took the film industry by storm. However, as the preteens are maturing, social media and press coverage are sexualizing the young cast, specifically the show’s lead, Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown.

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PlayFM, a spanish radio company, recently dug up the August 2017 issue of W Magazine, where on the cover, Brown’s name was listed under a feature which read, “Why TV Is Sexier Than Ever.” The 13-year-old star was listed among adult actors such as Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard, James Franco, and Riz Ahmed.

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Former child actress, Mara Wilson, famously known as Matilda, came to Brown’s defense after retired NBC executive, Mike Sington, tweeted photos of Brown on the red carpet with the caption, “Millie Bobby Brown just grew up in front of our eyes. (She’s 13)!” Wilson responded to Sington’s tweet with a simple, “Knock it the f*** off.”

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The conversation inspired Wilson to speak out about the sexualization of the “Stranger Things” kids with an op-ed in Elle Magazine.

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“I felt sick, and then I felt furious," Wilson wrote in regards to seeing Sington's tweet. "A 13-year-old girl is not all grown up. And even if she had been what we consider grown up, that is not newsworthy,” Wilson said.

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The former child actress also spoke out about being sexualized by adult fans when she was younger, including receiving letters from male fans or being photoshopped into child pornography.

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“What's really at play here is the creepy, inappropriate public inclination to sexualize young girls in the media," Wilson writes. "We do not need to perpetuate the culture of dehumanization Hollywood has enabled."

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As the release of season two hit Netflix just days before Halloween, the show also inspired an over-sexualized Eleven costume to go on sale on Yandy.com, which was deemed too sexy by fans on Twitter.

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The adult version of the costume, titled, “The Upside Down Honey Costume,” appeared to replicate Eleven’s iconic look from season one, including a pink dress, a blue jacket, high socks, and topped with a blonde wig. However, the $44.99 costume featured a very short pink dress, thigh-high white socks, platform stilettos, a waffle purse, and of course, a platinum blonde wig.

Although Brown did not respond to the uproar the adult costume received, she did however, admit that she finds adult men that dress up as her character weird.

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“I can’t really think about it too much because if I think about it, it freaks me out that grown men are dressing up as me, you know?” Brown said after witnessing Eleven-inspired costumes on Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show,” according to Independent.co.uk. However, Brown did add, “I think it’s cool, I’m definitely grateful for it, and people are really funny. I get to see all those videos and pictures.”

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Brown isn’t the only child actor receiving sexualized press and social media coverage. Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler on the show, took to Twitter to ask fans to stop harassing the show’s cast. The 14-year-old is fed up after receiving criticism for failing to speak with fans outside of his hotel. One fan who waited outside the hotel called the actor, “heartless” for not stopping in a video shared on Twitter.

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Wolfhard spoke out about the harassment, tweeting, “Hey everybody! I don't wanna ex-communicate anyone from this fandom, but if you are for real you will not harass my friends, or co-workers. Ya'll know who you are.”

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Actor Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers on the show, followed with a tweet in support of Wolfhard.

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“We really love the fans," he wrote. "Finn is the nicest guy u will ever know. we all work so hard, and need a break sometimes."

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Shannon Purser, who played Barb in the first season, also came to Wolfhard’s defense on Twitter and stated that no actor should feel obligated to stop for anyone, following with, “he’s human and he needs breaks too.”

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Wolfhard also received sexual comments made to him by 27-year-old model, Ali Michael, who recently apologized in a statement with Teen Vogue for posting an Instagram story with a photo of Wolfhard including the caption, “not to be weird but hit me up in four years.”

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Wolfhard described the comments as, “gross,” noted that he recently fired his APA (Agency for the Performing Arts) talent agent, Tyler Grasham, amid claims that he sexually assaulted young male actors.

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Actor and filmmaker, Blaise Godbe Lipman, brought the misconduct to light after using the #MeToo campaign to share his story that an unknown APA talent agent sexually assaulted him after getting him drunk when he was only 17-years-old. Lipman also claims that Grasham harassed him multiple times over the phone and threatened his career, according to The New York Daily News.

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Following Lipman’s story, two other men, film editor Lucas Ozarowski and actor Brady Lindsey, claim that Grasham also made sexual advances on them, with Ozarowski claiming that he was groped by the agent at a party two years ago and later was sent harassing messages.

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The sexualization and harassment in Hollywood continues to spark conversation among all platforms of entertainment. However, several fans and supportive celebrities continue to defend and protect young actors in the industry from being silenced and becoming victims of harassment and sexual assault.

11/28/2017

By Jacqueline DuMont, Managing Editor

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