Stranger Things premieres damage control
David Harbor is not having a good month. But attendees at the Nov. 6 premiere event in Los Angeles for the fifth and final season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” may not have noticed.
Harbor was all smiles on the red carpet, especially when he playfully hugged co-star Millie Bobby Brown, and they took selfies with fans. The two arrived at the event together and even exchanged compliments in interviews on the carpet: Brown told ‘Entertainment Tonight’ that she “obviously had a very special bond with David because we have a father-daughter relationship, and we do every scene together… It was so special to have him on my journey.” When Harbor spoke to ET, the only outlet for which he granted an interviewhe said of Brown, “I adore her, and I’m proud to see them all grow up and become such great artists… this particular project is so special, and we’ve gotten to know each other so deeply.”
If the two seemed overly cozy on Thursday, perhaps that was the intention: the premiere event took place just days after the The British Daily Mail report of November 1 that Brown had filed a complaint of bullying and harassment against Harbor before the start of production on season 5. Neither star commented on the story and Harbor limited his interactions with the press during the premiere.
News of Brown’s complaint against Harbor threatens to overshadow coverage of the final season of “Stranger Things.” But insiders say that even before the recent news, Harbor was not expected to participate in press conferences for the show due to his busy filming schedule. (His upcoming projects next year include HBO’s “DTF St. Louis” — starring Jason Bateman and Linda Cardellini — and Marvel’s “Avengers: Doomsday,” due out in December 2026.)
PR experts suggested so Variety that the red carpet choreography – as well as the entire cast’s performance together on stage at the TCL Chinese Theater prior to the screening of Episode 1 – was intended to send a message that the cast is united and that the show is bigger than any one. “The goal in these situations is to make it no worse,” said a PR manager during the crisis.
Instead, Netflix leaned on Harbor and Brown’s footage be playful on the carpetposting a video of the two greeting fans. Brown’s fashion brand, Florence by Mills, liked the video and posted a heart emoji, and many fan comments on the post suggested they thought the reports of drama between the two stars were much ado about nothing. Photos taken at the party also show the two being cozy.
Sources with knowledge of the situation have confirmed this Variety that Brown’s complaint was investigated and resolved. As father and daughter on the show, as well as comrades-in-arms, Brown and Harbor share several scenes in Season 5 of ‘Stranger Things,’ including one witnessed by a reporter for Variety during a day visit to the set in July 2024.
Representatives for Brown, Harbor and Netflix did not respond to requests for comment. On the carpet, the show’s creative leads – creators Matt and Ross Duffer and executive producer Shawn Levy – were asked directly about the complaint by the Hollywood reporter; While they declined to name the actors, they all spoke about the importance of making sure their cast feels safe within the show’s “family atmosphere.”
“I’ve read a lot of stories and they range from wildly inaccurate to… there’s so much noise around it,” Levy told the outlet. “But the truth is, we consider this crew and this cast like family, and so we treat each other with respect, and that’s always been the foundation.” Ross Duffer said: “We’ve been doing this for ten years with this cast, and at this point they’re family and we care about them deeply. So you know, nothing is more important than just having a set where everyone feels safe and happy.”
In the first four seasons of “Stranger Things,” Brown’s character Eleven (introduced in Season 1 as a quiet, pre-teen girl with extraordinary telekinetic skills) and Harbor’s character Hopper (introduced as the burnout police chief of Hawkins, Indiana) form a surrogate father-daughter bond. In seasons 2 and 3, Eleven and Hopper experience some friction due to Hopper’s overprotective concern for Eleven’s safety; in season 4, the characters operate in completely separate storylines and don’t share a scene until the final minutes of the season finale.
The Daily Mail report came from “a friend” of Harbour’s ex-wife Lily Allen. That’s notable because the story of Brown’s complaint broke amid a flurry of attention surrounding Harbor’s divorce from singer-songwriter Allen, whose new album, “West End Girl,” delves extensively into Harbor’s alleged infidelity, such as in the song “Pussy Palace.” In his review in VarietyChris Willman said the album is “a divorce record with a capital D,” and that Allen and Harbor split “after five years of marriage that apparently started as a fairytale romance for her and ended in the devastation spread throughout every song on the album.”
