Millie Bobby Brown Defends Backlash to Her Accent, Explains Why She Goes ‘In and Out’ Around Jake Bongiovi’s Family

Millie Bobby Brown is setting the record straight on her changing accent.

During a March 10 appearance on the Smartless podcast, the Stranger Things star, 21, addressed the changes in her voice after fans noticed she would go back and forth between her British and American accents.

When cohost Will Arnett pointed out how “cool” it was that she would go “in and out” throughout their conversation, Brown admitted that the online chatter about her accent had been challenging.

“That was such a huge thing for a minute,” she explained. “I actually call it the accent gate because it’s so frustrating because that was everywhere. Like for a second, everyone was talking about my accent, and they had a real problem about it. And I was like, ‘Guys, I’m married to an American.'”

Brown, who married Jake Bongiovi in May 2024, continued, “When I’m around his family, I immediately go into, like, an American accent. But then I was just in England, and then the second I hear my mom and dad’s accent, I just go right back.”

As an actress, she noted that shifting into different characters and taking on various accents was a part of the job.

“You want me to play these characters, but you expect me not to morph into people. What I hear is what I do,” she added. “It’s all part of it.”

This isn’t the first time Brown has addressed the changes.

In March 2024, the Damsel star spoke out about fans who left comments, worrying that she had lost her British accent after she made an appearance on The Tonight Show at the time.

“I’m an actor,” Brown said in a TikTok video. “I grew up in the public eye. I grew up in America. I come to set and I’m an actor and I adapt, and so I want to mimic other people.”

“I can’t help that when I’m around my fiancé, or when I’m with people like Jimmy Fallon who have a very American accent, I wanna replicate it,” she continued. “And now I’m in England, I wanna replicate that [accent]. I don’t do it intentional, and I’m sorry if it offends you, okay? But listen, I’m trying my best. I’m trying my best.”