Millie Bobby Brown needed protection

Lily Allen’s new album, West End Girl, is essentially a diary detailing the collapse of her marriage to David Harbour. She puts his sh-tty behaviour on blast, as she’s working out her own pain and trauma. And she decided to release it just before the final season of Stranger Things which is dropping in three installments starting on November 26. 

The red carpet premiere for Stranger Things is happening later this week, on Thursday. And it’ll be interesting to see if David Harbour actually shows up. Because it’s not just Lily who’s making him look like a f-cking loser, it’s also … possibly… Millie Bobby Brown. The Daily Mail landed a big scoop this weekend and, for a change where that publication is concerned, it sounds credible. Maybe because several of Millie’s family members live in England? 

According to the Daily Mail’s source, MBB filed a claim against David before production began on season five last January. He was allegedly bullying and harassing her (the harassment was not sexual) and there were “pages and pages of accusations”. Apparently the investigation went on for months and while the outcome of the investigation is not known, Millie supposedly felt so unsafe that she was reportedly accompanied by a legal representative for the duration of shooting. 

It'll be interesting to see what their interactions are if David actually shows up to the premiere. And if he doesn’t, and there continue to be no denials in response to the Daily Mail’s story, that points even more to it being true. And if it is true, there are multiple takeaways. First and foremost, he’s a f-cking asshole in personal and professional settings. But also, Millie’s terrible experience is unfortunately a reminder of the reality for many women in the workplace, no matter their title. And this is what I’m hoping people will spend time thinking in reaction to this story. 

Millie Bobby Brown is #1 on the Stranger Things callsheet, the biggest breakout star not just of that show but Netflix period as she has widely been referred to as the first star that Netflix has made. Which would make her, you would think!, one of their most valuable talents. And yet, for all her success, for all her influence, it still did not protect her from the toxic behaviour of an older male co-star. 

So for all the assumptions we make about power and about privilege, for all that commentary that we hear all over TikTok and other social media platforms about who is truly vulnerable and whether or not it’s believable that they could be vulnerable and who their friends are and how much money they make, it can happen to anyone. Even the top actress on a top show on the top streamer. There’s always a David Harbour around to ruin your day.