In the midst of a messy divorce from singer Lily Allen, Avengers: Doomsday star David Harbour was dealt another blow when The Daily Mail published a damning article alleging issues with actress Millie Bobbie Brown on the set of Netflix's Stranger Things.
The tabloid claimed that Brown had accused her co-star of "harassment and bullying," leading to her being accompanied by a personal assistant whenever she was on set with Harbour. That came after an investigation by the streamer that supposedly lasted "months."
While no sexual impropriety was alleged, the news threatened to overshadow the Stranger Things Season 5 premiere. However, with it widely theorised that Allen's team leaked details on the investigation, that may have been the point.
Brown and Harbour put on a (somewhat performative) united front at a red carpet event, proving to the world that they were a united front.
The Hollywood Reporter (via SFFGazette.com) recently caught up with Brown and asked why it was important to display that after the headline-making accusations.
"We’ve been doing that for the last 10 years," she replied. "I mean, we have always been united in that. We love this show with everything, and we value our friendship more than anything."
Brown added that it was "so nice" and "really exciting" to "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’s trying to find her own voice, and he’s trying to parent, and that dynamic definitely comes back into play once again."
"I’m really excited for people to see that," the actress continued. "And I think some of people’s favourite scenes of Eleven are Ele and [Hopper], so I’m really excited to have that come to screen once again."
It seems doubtful that we'll ever learn the full story. Still, Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer has stated, "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."
Director and executive producer Shawn Levy later added, "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."
"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," he concluded.
Brown and Harbour share several scenes in the four episodes of Stranger Things that arrived on Netflix earlier this week. It's nothing new for actors to occasionally clash on set, and given the comments above, it seems likely the reports were blown out of proportion.
Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 1 is now streaming on Netflix.