Variety via Getty Images

Millie Bobby Brown has posted a video on Instagram in which she condemns the press for “bullying” her over her changing physical appearance. The “Stranger Things” star called out specific articles and writers for their “disturbing” coverage that is devoted to “dissecting my face, my body, my choices.”

“I started in this industry when I was 10 years old,” Brown wrote in the caption to the video. “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.”

Brown blasted “the people who are so desperate to tear young women down” and went on to name some of the writers and articles who targeted her. She directly read aloud some of the headlines that have been written about her recently, from “Why are Gen Zers like Millie Bobby Brown ageing so badly?” to “What has Millie Bobby Brown done to her face?” She was particularly disgusted by one article (“Little Britain’s Matt Lucas takes savage swipe at Millie Bobby Brown’s new ‘mommy makeover’ look”) because it was “amplifying an insult rather than questioning why a grown man is mocking a young woman’s appearance.”

The actor has made several red carpet appearances in recent weeks on the publicity tour for her new Netflix original movie, “The Electric State.” She attended the movie’s Hollywood premiere last month and recently popped up at the BRIT Awards.

“This isn’t journalism. This is bullying,” Brown said of the press coverage. “The fact that adult writers are spending their time dissecting my face, my body, my choices, it’s disturbing. The fact that some of these articles are written by women? Even worse. We always talk about supporting and uplifting young women, but when the time comes, it seems easier to tear them down for clicks. Disillusioned people can’t handle seeing a girl become a woman on her terms, not theirs. 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. I will not be shamed for how I look, how I dress, or how I present myself.”

Brown continued, “We have become a society where it’s so much easier to criticize than it is to pay a compliment. Why is the knee-jerk reaction to say something horrible rather than to say something nice? If you have a problem with that, I have to wonder—what is it that actually makes you so uncomfortable? Let’s do better. Not just for me, but for every young girl who deserves to grow up without fear of being torn apart for simply existing.”

The actor is gearing up for a busy 2025 with the release of “The Electric State” later this month and the final season of “Stranger Things” expected to launch later this year. She is one of Netflix’s most popular actors thanks not only to “Stranger Things” but her blockbuster streaming titles “Enola Holmes” and “Damsel.”

Watch Brown’s video post below.