‘I was crying every day’

Millie Bobby Brown is no stranger to public scrutiny — and neither is Sabrina Carpenter. While chatting with British Vogue for its December issue, the 21-year-old actress recalled a moment earlier this year when the Man’s Best Friend hitmaker comforted her backstage.

It happened at the Brit Awards in March, before Brown presented Carpenter with an award. The Enola Holmes star cried as she sat in the hair and makeup chair, overwhelmed by the vitriolic comments she said she’d received following The Electric State press tour. As a nod to the film’s nostalgic ‘90s aesthetic, Brown and her stylist Ryan Young decided to pay homage to Pamela Anderson, a notable blonde bombshell of the decade, during the film’s press tour. But Brown’s platinum blonde locks and statement looks were negatively received, and she was the target of online bullying.

The “Espresso” singer saw Brown backstage, gave her a hug and shared some words of wisdom. Carpenter is also no stranger to online criticism. This past summer, critics accused her of catering to the male gaze, citing her controversial Man’s Best Friend and Rolling Stone covers as proof.

“I was depressed for three, four days. I was crying every day,” Brown told British Vogue in a story published on Wednesday. “I was crying while I was getting my hair and make-up done. I was even welling up when I saw her [Carpenter] backstage.”

The Damsel star told the magazine of Carpenter’s advice, “Truly, always, her mentality is very much like ‘F**k ’em’, which I knew inside of me, but when you hear someone else say it, you’re like, ‘Yes! That’s it!’”

Brown was launched into superstardom at just 12 years old, after landing the role of Eleven, the resilient, psychokinetic adolescent on Netflix’s Stranger Things. A lot has changed since the show premiered in 2016, and Brown, inevitably, has grown and matured as a result. Like many young women who come of age in Hollywood, Brown has experimented with her appearance, from the color of her hair to her choice of clothing. The difference, unfortunately, is that she’s done so in the public eye.

“I understand that there’s paparazzi, even though it’s invasive, even though it feels like shit to me — I know that’s your job. … But don’t, in your headline, slam me at the get-go,” she told British Vogue. “It is so wrong and it is bullying, especially to young girls who are new to this industry and are already questioning everything about it.”

A few days after the Brit Awards, Brown addressed the criticism in a video that she posted on Instagram.

“I started in this industry when I was 10 years old. I grew up in front of the world, and for some reason, people can’t seem to grow with me,” read her caption. “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.”

Brown continued, “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.”

Brown appears to be living life on her own terms: The Florence by Mills founder and her husband, Jake Bongiovi, son of rocker Jon Bon Jovi, announced that they adopted a baby girl this past summer.

“We are beyond excited to embark on this beautiful next chapter of parenthood in both peace and privacy,” read Brown and Bongiovi’s joint Instagram post.