Copyright Us Weekly
Millie Bobby Brown filed a complaint about her Stranger Things costar David Harbour before they filmed the fifth and final season of the Netflix series. Brown, 21, “filed a harassment and bullying claim before they started shooting the last season,” a source told the Daily Mail, on Saturday, November 1, adding that “there were pages and pages of accusations” and that the subsequent investigation “went on for months.” According to the outlet, Brown (who plays Eleven on the show) claimed that Harbour (who plays Eleven’s adoptive dad, Jim Hopper) bullied and harassed her on the set. The Enola Holmes actress’ claims against Harbour, 50, reportedly did not include any allegations of misconduct of a sexual nature. She had a representative on the set of season 5, which wrapped filming in December 2024. Neither Brown, Harbour nor Netflix have publicly addressed the accusations. Us Weekly reached out to reps for all three for comment. Brown and Harbour have costarred on Netflix’s Stranger Things since its inaugural 2016 season. The long-awaited final season of Stranger Things premieres November 26. “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, detailing his bonds with his younger costars. “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.” Harbour further addressed the paradox of actors receiving widespread acclaim at such a young age. (Harbour was 41 when Stranger Things premiered, while stars like Brown were just teenagers.) “I think the problem with young fame is that it’s very exciting, you know? It’s very exciting to have people think you’re a genius, but you don’t really want to be a genius at 11 years old,” she said. “It’s not a long life. I would love to see Gaten [Matarazzo] play King Lear when he’s 70 years old. I would like to see those kinds of careers out of them, and that’s my own selfish desire for them to explore their artistry and their instruments to the fullest of their potential.” According to Harbour, he does “get very worried” about his costars’ future much like a parent would. “As any parent knows, it’s hopeless and nothing works. You just offer what you can and then watch, and you’re just there for them if they need you,” Harbour said. “That’s where I discovered my place for them. I’m always here to help them out, but they’re on their own path. It’s a wild path, but they all seem to be doing great.” As for Brown, she’s been candid about what it was like spending her formative years on the set of Stranger Things. “I implemented what I was learning as a child, or what I was going through, into her,” Brown told Vanity Fair in February about her acting process. “Eleven’s identity was a huge thing that we were kind of fighting with. Is she going to dress as a girl or is she gonna dress in the shirts of her adoptive father, Hopper? Or is she gonna be what her friends are helping her to be? At that time in my life, I didn’t know what I wanted to look like, if I preferred more feminine looks, more masculine looks, more androgynous, more grunge. I implemented that confusion.”
