Millie Bobby Brown is speaking out about her dynamic with David Harbour after reports surfaced that she filed a complaint against her Stranger Things costar for bullying and harassment during the filming of season 5.
“We love this show with everything, and we value our friendship more than anything,” Brown, 21, told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on Wednesday, November 26, more than two weeks after the costars happily posed together at the Netflix series’ season 5 premiere in Los Angeles.
“We’ve been doing that for the last 10 years,” the actress said when asked why it was important she stand united with Harbour, 50, after the alleged complaint made headlines. “I mean, we have always been united in that.”
The Daily Mail published a report on Saturday, November 1, claiming the actress “filed a harassment and bullying claim before they started shooting the last season” of the Netflix hit. A source told the outlet that “there were pages and pages of accusations,” leading to an investigation that “went on for months.”
Brown plays Eleven on Stranger Things, with Harbour, 50, starring as Hawkins police chief Jim Hopper, who becomes Eleven’s adoptive father. Part one of the show’s final season dropped on Wednesday.
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Brown’s filing reportedly did not include any accusations of sexual misconduct. While filming season 5, Brown allegedly had a representative with her on set.
Us Weekly reached out to reps for Brown, Harbour and Netflix when the complaint was first reported.
When show creators Ross and Matt Duffer were asked about the alleged incident by THR at the premiere earlier this month, Ross replied, “We’ve been doing this for 10 years with this cast, and at this point they’re family and we deeply care about them.” Brown was also asked about her relationship to Harbour on the red carpet, telling Extra they pair feel “so lucky to have each other.”
Since Stranger Things began in 2016, both Brown and Harbour have spoken candidly about their working relationship. Brown opened up about how her bond with Harbour grew across the show’s five seasons during a recent interview with Empire Magazine.
“David [Harbour, who plays Hopper] and I connected on another level,” she said. “He always looked out for me, and I always annoyed him like a daughter or a younger sister. I was always trying to climb all over him and he was always rolling his eyes and laughing at me.”
Their off-camera dynamic played into their characters’ interactions as well. “I think that’s kind of how the El and Hopper relationship really started to develop in the show — it was mirroring our actual lives and our actual relationship.”
Harbour, for his part, previously admitted to feeling “protective” of Brown. “Millie and I have always had sort of a special relationship because I knew her when she was so young. I knew her before any of this big fame hit,” he said on “That Scene with Dan Patrick” in 2021. “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. And I’ve just always felt this kind of deep fatherly affection for her.”
Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour’s Quotes About Working Together
Ahead of Stranger Things‘ final season, Harbour praised his younger costars for how they’ve navigated life in the public eye amid the show’s success.
“They’re all pretty good kids. Maybe it’s just because I’m sober, I’m sure everyone’s doing them, but it just feels like kids are not as substance-abusive as my generation was,” Harbour told Esquire UK in a November profile. “One of the real ropes to hang on to in this business for me has been the artistry of what you’re doing.”
He continued, “There are things that are just so beyond your control — whether or not you get box office, or whether or not people like you. All of these things are way beyond your control. But one of the things that you can control is your particular passion for storytelling, for art, for what you want to say, your voice.”
