Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown was honored with a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award on Saturday night. But instead of making the moment about her, she dedicated her win to the Parkland high school shooting victims in a moving speech.
The 14-year-old actress showed her support for the March For Our Lives movement with a custom made Calvin Klein denim jacket inscribed with the names of the 17 victims who were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14.
The words "Never Again" were emblazoned across the front of the jacket and the phrase "March For Our Lives" was stitched on the back accompanied by the names of all the victims.
"Thank you so much for this award, and to Nickelodeon for bringing us all together," Brown said, after winning the favorite TV actress award for her role as "Eleven" on the popular science fiction Netflix series.
As we saw a moment ago, 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. I'm fortunate to be here tonight to receive an award as an actor. I'm 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'm privileged to have a voice that can be heard, one that I can use to hopefully make a positive difference and help influence change. OK, so there's an amazing support, love and kindness in this room right now, and I want to encourage everyone to embrace it and to pass it on.
In conclusion, she dedicated her award to those who lost their lives in one of the most deadliest school massacres. "For the angels among us, your spirit lives on. This is for you."
Later in the show, Stranger Things won Favorite TV Show, where Brown reunited with co-stars Caleb McLaughlin and Sadie Sink on stage.
The ceremony took place hours after thousands of empowered students participated in the nationwide demonstration against gun violence.
Other celebrities used their platforms to have their voices heard in the march initiated by the #NeverAgain movement and attended the rallies, including George Clooney, Laura Dern, Willow and Jaden Smith, and many others.
Laura Dern's daughter Jaya Harper told The Hollywood Reporter about experiencing lock down drills and being opposed to arming teachers.
Change will happen. We have all fought very hard for profound change that we saw during the last administration that we cheered and wept for in the streets but it's getting pulled back," Dern told THR. "To feel like we're moving three steps forward and then 10 steps back is terrifying. But the groundswell in the streets of this generation feels like it is a paradigm shift.
Empire actress and rapper Ta'Rhonda Jones attended the L.A. march, which was very personal for her. In 2014, she lost her 22-year-old brother to gun violence. She told THR:
I just want to know how many more? You now have all these tragedies. We're not safe in schools. We're not safe in churches. In Chicago we're not even safe in our homes. Bullets come through the windows. Where are we safe? I'm losing close friends. It's become a pattern where people are comfortable with these things happening in Chicago. It's like, 'Yup, another one,' because it's so common. Killings are happening too often.
People were moved by Brown's acceptance speech and tweeted their praise.
Millie expressed her gratitude for the award and tweeted, "Thank you to all the fans who voted for me and for Stranger Things at Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards today. She also thanked her friends at Calvin Klein "for being such a champion of important causes and efforts to create positivity in this world."
The young actress made her modeling debut with the Calvin Klein By Appointment campaign in January 2017 and signed with a modeling agency a month later.
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