CELEBRITY
Millie Bobby Brown’s transatlantic confusion, Taylor Swift’s disappearing Southern twang and Lulu’s Scottish switch up: The A-listers whose accents appear to change like the wind
For most of us, accent is something that sticks like glue in formative years. It can soften with new geography but never truly fades away from what it was…unless it seems, you’re an A-lister. Celebrities aplenty have sparked confused amongst fans over the years when they suddenly don’t quite sound like they once did. The most recent star to find themselves in the accent spotlight is Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown.
Last week, the star appeared on The Jonathon Ross Show, with fans surprised at her apparent cut-glass British accent. It was in stark contrast to Millie’s appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in February where she spoke with a noticeably American twang. Viewers picked up on Millie’s altered accent with one commenting on YouTube: ‘What an accent change from Millie’s interview with Jimmy Fallon.’ Another wrote: ‘I thought she started to lose her accent but here it seems fine maybe cause she’s surrounded by Brits.’
Millie was born in Spain and spent part of her childhood in Bournemouth, England and Orlando, Florida before settling down in Atlanta, Georgia. It comes after Millie set the record straight last year after she was accused of actively losing her British accent in favor of sounding ‘more American.’ She addressed the backlash on TikTok as she explained how growing up in both the UK and the United States has influenced her accent over the years.
‘So, I’m an actor. I grew up in the public eye. I grew up in America,’ she explained. ‘I come to set and I’m an actor and I adapt. And so I want to mimic people.’ Millie maintains that when she’s around Americans like Jimmy Fallon or her fiancé, Jake Bongiovi, she has a natural instinct to mimic the way they speak. She said: ‘I can’t help that when I’m around my fiancé or when I’m around people like Jimmy Fallon, who have a very American accent, I wanna replicate it.’
‘And now I’m in England, I wanna replicate that. I don’t do it intentional and I’m sorry if it offends you. But listen, I’m trying my best!’ she said while looking directly towards the camera. Hyping up the entertainment factor, the host chimed in: ‘She’s Millie Bobby Brown and she can speak how she wants.’ ‘I’m trying my best,’ the actress reiterated, all while speaking with a dramatic effect.