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David Harbour sets the record straight on ‘bullying’ Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobby Brown: ‘Had a breakdown’
In a new interview, David Harbour said that the headlines about the rumoured complaint by Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobby Brown “came out in a weird way”.
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Last year, reports suggested that tensions had surfaced between David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown during the filming of the final season of Stranger Things, with one report claiming that Millie Bobby Brown had filed a bullying and harassment complaint against him. However, in a recent interview, the actor dismissed much of the speculation, clarifying that the rumoured fallout was largely a product of tabloid exaggeration.
David Harbour sets the record straight
In an interview with Variety, David, 51, addressed the Daily Mail report, in which a source claimed that Millie, 22, filed a bullying and harassment complaint against him before production began on Stranger Things season 5. The report surfaced in November last year.
In the interview, David said that the headlines about the rumoured complaint "came out in a weird way" and were "a weird thing."
David said, “In this weird world we live in, where sound bites will be created, I’m trying to figure out how to say this...It’s a show that went on for 10 years. We worked together for 10 years during her formative teenage years, playing father and daughter. I don’t know if people have families and friends that you spend a lot of time with for 10 years — you occasionally get in arguments, disagreements.”
Portraying the story as false, David said he “had a breakdown” after reading the reports. He called the story’s timing, coming a week after his ex Lily Allen released her album, West End Girl, which was critical of the actor, “weird.”
So, what happened between him and his co-star, who played father-daughter duo Jim Hopper and Eleven in the show from 2016 to 2025?
“It was just a simple rupture-and-repair thing that, once we cleared everybody out of the way and talked to each other, we’re fine. Everyone nowadays is very scared of talking about things. People are very scared of being human. It’s unfortunate, because I don’t know how to navigate this weird media world. But it was completely normal, and we adore each other and always have,” he said.
David also revealed that he and Millie are "working on several" new projects together, though he didn’t elaborate on them.
What do we know about the rumours
Throughout the five seasons of Stranger Things, David played Hawkins police department chief Jim Hopper, who adopted Millie’s character Eleven at the end of the first season.
Before the season five premiere, the Daily Mail, citing an unnamed source, reported that Millie filed “pages and pages of accusations” against David before filming began on the Netflix series’ final season. Netflix reportedly investigated the claims “for months,” the Mail reported.
Amid rumours of a rift in November, David and Millie put on a united front at the Stranger Things season five premiere in Los Angeles. They were photographed hugging and smiling while posing for photos on the red carpet at the TCL Chinese Theatre together.
