Duffer Brothers Respond to Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour Bullying Claims at ‘Stranger Things’ Premiere
A Stranger Things final season press tour junket has been underway since Monday, but there’s one topic Netflix doesn’t want raised: a viral report alleging star Millie Bobby Brown accused co-star David Harbour of on-set bullying.
Despite the alleged report, Brown and Harbour were all smiles as they posed together at the season five world premiere in Los Angeles on Thursday evening.
When asked about the bullying claims on the red carpet, co-creator Ross Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter while standing next to his brother Matt 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.”
Also at the premiere, THR asked Stranger Things director and executive producer Shawn Levy how production handles a bullying complaint on set and “makes sure everyone feels safe and respected.”
“At the end of the day, that’s the job,” Levy replied. “You have to create a respectful workplace where everyone feels comfortable and safe, and so we did everything to build that environment. And we’re proud of the fact that we did so.”
He continued, “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.”
Neither Netflix nor representatives for Brown and Harbour had replied to queries about the report, which was first posted by U.K. tabloid The Daily Mail on Saturday, heading into Thursday night’s L.A. premiere of the fifth and final season of the megahit series.
The story said the 21-year-old Brown filed a harassment and bullying claim against the 50-year-old Thunderbolts* star before filming began on season five and that there were “pages of pages” of allegations. The claims were not specified, but no sexual impropriety was reportedly alleged. Netflix reportedly investigated the claims “for months.” Also, as a result, Brown was accompanied by a personal representative while on set for the final season. The show wrapped filming in December.
The claims come at a peak awkward moment for the streamer, just as a massive marketing campaign is ramping up for the show’s highly anticipated (and very expensive) fifth and final season.
In the show, the duo have a tender and at times acrimonious father-daughter relationship, with Brown playing the superpowered orphan Eleven and Harbour portraying the gruff small town police chief Jim Hopper.
In 2021, Harbour spoke out about his feelings about his co-star. “Millie and I have always had sort of a special relationship because I knew her when she was so young,” Harbour said on the That Scene With Dan Patrick podcast. “I knew her before any of this big fame hit…. I have a real protective feeling for her. I have a real, like, worry. I worry about her and the fame and all that she has to struggle with.”
Brown has previously spoken out about the issue of bullying. In March, she posted an Instagram video while promoting her Netflix movie The Electric State and pushed back on trolls who criticized her appearance online.
“I started in this industry when I was 10 years old,” she said, according to Today. “I grew up in front of the world, and for some reason, people can’t seem to grow with me. Instead, they act like I’m supposed to stay frozen in time, like I should still look the way I did on Stranger Things season one. And because I don’t, I’m now a target.”
Brown read off a few headlines and then continued: “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.”
The final season of Stranger Things is rolling out in a three-part holiday-timed release, with the first four episodes in Part 1 releasing Nov. 26. Part 2’s episodes then release Dec. 25, with the feature-length series finale hitting both the streaming and select theaters on Dec. 31.
Tiffany Taylor contributed to this report.
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