Stranger Things Star Millie Bobbie Brown Breaks Silence on Her Current Relationship With David Harbour Following On-Set ‘Bullying’ Complaint

Sponsored

Millie Bobbie Brown has discussed her current relationship with Stranger Things co-star David Harbour, after a recent article claimed she had filed a report concerning his behavior ahead of production on the Netflix hit’s final season.

The two actors presented a united front earlier this month at a high-profile Stranger Things Season 5 red carpet premiere, where Brown and Harbour posed together for a series of cosy photos but steered clear of media interviews.

At the same event, however, director Shawn Levy and Stranger Things co-creator Matt Duffer were both asked about the situation between the series’ stars, following the publication just days earlier of a Daily Mail report that stated that Brown had lodged “harassment and bullying” complaints against Harbour and had subsequently been accompanied by a personal assistant whenever on set.

According to the Daily Mail, no sexual impropriety was alleged, and an internal investigation by Netflix reportedly lasted “for months.” Now, following the publication of the Daily Mail article, Brown has commented on why she had been so “united” with Harbour at the premiere.

“We’ve been doing that for the last 10 years,” Brown told The Hollywood Reporter. “I mean, we have always been united in that. We love this show with everything, and we value our friendship more than anything.”

While not addressing her reported complaint directly, Brown went on to state that it had been “so nice” to subsequently “come back together” with Harbour for Stranger Things’ final season.

“It was quite nostalgic because it reminded me so much of season two and three, where we’re both kind of butting heads and she’s growing up,” she continued. “She’s trying to find her own voice and he’s trying to parent, and that dynamic definitely comes back into play once again, and I’m really excited for people to see that.”

“Obviously, you understand I can’t get into personal onset matters,” Matt Duffer said when asked about the situation at the Stranger Things Season 5 premiere, “but I will say we’ve been doing this for 10 years with this cast, and at this point they’re family and we deeply care about them. So, you know, nothing matters more than just having a set where everyone feels safe and happy.”

“You have to create a respectful workplace where everyone feels comfortable and safe, and so we did everything to build that environment,” Shawn Levy added, speaking at the same event. “And we’re proud of the fact that we did so. I’ve read a bunch of stories and they range from wildly inaccurate to… there’s so much noise around it. But the truth is that we view this crew and this cast as family, and so we treat each other with respect, and that’s always been bedrock.”

Stranger Things’ final season debuted its first four episodes this week and briefly brought Netflix offline in the process. Not watched it yet? Co-creator Ross Duffer has called on fans to turn off what he described as “garbage” TV settings to view the series as its makers intended.

The show will continue with a further batch of episodes on December 25, before its feature-length series finale drops on December 31.

Image credit: Roger Kisby/Getty for Netflix.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social