'This is for you.'
As people all over world joined the March For Our Lives movement to call for sensible gun reform in the United States, Millie Bobby Brown joined the fight from the stage of Nickelodeon’s Kids' Choice Awards. The Stranger Things actress took the opportunity to pay tribute to the shooting victims of the Parkland high school shooting that took place earlier this year, both in her winner’s speech and her emotional outfit.
Dressed in a bespoke Calvin Klein denim outfit, the back of the 14 year old star’s top was embroidered with the seventeen names of the children who lost their lives in the tragedy. The words ‘NEVER AGAIN’ were also embroidered above her front breast pocket, a reference to the gun reform campaigns spearheaded by students who survived the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
After winning a Kids’ Choice Award for favourite TV actress, she said, ‘The March For Our Lives demonstrations that took place all over the world today have inspired me and impacted us all in one way or another.’
She continued, ‘I am so very grateful and I appreciate the love and support of my fans and the opportunity that our show Stranger Things has created for me, but more than anything - I get to be up here and I am privileged enough to have a voice that can be heard. One that I can use to hopefully make a positive difference and help influence change.’
‘For the angels among us, your spirit lives on. This is for you,’ she finished.
Millie then turned her back to the camera in silence, displaying the full list of names on the back of her shirt.
The star also took to Instagram to further spread the message to her 15.4 million followers, captioning the poster for March For Our Lives: March For Our Lives is an opportunity for us all to stand in solidarity against gun violence. No child, teen, parent or teacher should be afraid to walk into their school or classroom. This is our chance to be HEARD! This is our chance to MAKE A DIFFERENCE. This world needs to be filled with love, kindness and support of one another. No more fear, no more hurt, no more shootings, no more GUNS. To everyone participating in tomorrow’s March all over the country, you have my love, support, strength and encouragement! #MARCHFOROURLIVES #NEVERAGAIN @marchforourlives’
Millie, who also happens to be the new face of Calvin Klein, also posted a close up photograph of the names on her top. She thanked her fans for her win and then also thanked Calvin Klein for ‘being such a champion of important causes and efforts to create positivity in this world’.
She also tagged prominent leaders of the March For Our Lives movement Emma Gonzalez, Cameron Kasky, David Hogg, Alexander Blake Wind and Jaclyn Corin, as well as hashtagging the post #marchforourlives and #neveragain.
After the success of Stranger Things catapulted Millie into fame, she hasn’t let the importance of her platform slip away from her. Besides using her voice to support March For Our Lives, she’s also joined the #TIMESUP battle and appeared recently at the Brit Awards with a white rose in hand - one of the campaign’s symbols of protest.
