Stranger Things execs call David Harbour/Millie Bobby Brown bullying stories "wildly inaccurate"

Showrunner Ross Duffer and executive producer Shawn Levy obliquely addressed reports that Brown had filed a bullying complaint against her long-time co-star.

By William Hughes | November 6, 2025 | 11:34pm

Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour, Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

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Stranger Things execs call David Harbour/Millie Bobby Brown bullying stories

Late last week—and just as the Netflix show was beginning the big push leading into the protracted release of its fifth and final season—British tabloid The Daily Mail reported on an investigation that reportedly came out of the Stranger Things set lately. Specifically, The Mail had a report that star Millie Bobby Brown had lodged a complaint of bullying against her frequent co-star on the series, David Harbour, supposedly with “pages” of complaints about his behavior. In the days since The Mail‘s report became public, nobody at either the show, or Netflix high command, has addressed the allegations—until tonight, when, per THR, the series’ showrunners and other executives fielded questions about it during the show’s big season premiere event in Los Angeles

Surrounded by the show’s cast (including Brown and Harbour, who were photographed and videoed smiling together), Ross Duffer was mostly oblique when asked about the story, which states that Brown filed her complaint against Harbour before filming on the fifth season began, and was ultimately accompanied by a personal representative while filming the season. (All reports about the investigation have been definitive in noting that none of the allegations made against Harbour were sexual in nature.) Per Duffer: “Obviously, you understand I can’t get into personal on-set matters, 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.”

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Director and executive producer Shawn Levy, meanwhile, was slightly less circumspect while answering the question—which is to say that he at least acknowledged that the stories have been circulating. “I’ve read a bunch of stories and they range from wildly inaccurate to… there’s so much noise around it,” Levy told press, stressing that creating a safe-feeling and respectful working environment is a key part of his job. Although he didn’t address specifics, Levy said “We did everything to build that environment. 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.”

Neither Harbour nor Brown themselves have directly addressed the story over the last week. He‘s been mostly radio-silent, having become embroiled, in recent months, in a very high-profile, apparently very musically productive divorce from singer Lily Allen. Brown, meanwhile, has actually been notably vocal during this period, but not about Harbour: She’s instead been calling out press for obsessive and negative headlines about her body and appearance, appearing on Today recently and stating,

This isn’t journalism. This is bullying. The fact that adult writers are spending their time dissecting my face, my body, my choices, is disturbing. And the fact that some of these articles are written by women makes it even worse. I refuse to apologize for growing up. I refuse to make myself smaller to fit the unrealistic expectations of people who can’t handle seeing a girl become a woman. I will not be shamed for how I look, how I dress or how I present myself … Let’s do better.