Updated: 1 Dec 2025Author:
David Frederickson

Millie Bobby Brown’s ‘of course I felt safe’ puts David Harbour bullying rumours on ice

  1. Millie Bobby Brown has finally addressed reports that she filed a bullying complaint against Stranger Things co-star David Harbour, saying she “of course” felt safe working with him.
  2. Rumours kicked off after a tabloid claimed she’d gone to Netflix with pages of allegations, just as the final season’s promo tour was getting underway.
  3. Now Millie is talking up their decade-long bond, calling Harbour a father figure on set and stressing that they’ve always been “united” in their friendship.
  4. The pair doubled down with a smiley red-carpet reunion at the Stranger Things 5 premiere, just to give the internet something wholesome to overanalyse for once.
  5. For fans, it’s a rare win: Vecna is still a menace, but at least Eleven and Hopper seem fine in real life.

How one tabloid report turned Hawkins into a HR investigation in fans’ heads

The bullying and harassment story that lit up the fandom

The drama started when a Daily Mail report claimed Millie had filed a bullying and harassment complaint against David Harbour before filming season five, complete with talk of pages of allegations and a quiet Netflix inquiry in the background.

No one on the record confirmed it, but the story spread faster than a Demogorgon in a shopping mall, leaving fans wondering if the show’s most emotional on-screen duo had completely fallen out off camera.

Silence, speculation and a very awkward promo build-up

For weeks, neither Millie nor Harbour commented, which only made things worse as social media filled the gaps with theories about chilly body language, missing joint interviews and who stood where in cast photos.

Stranger Things season five arrived under a cloud of “toxic set” discourse, even though the only concrete facts were one tabloid article and a lot of people zooming in on red-carpet pictures like they worked for CSI: Netflix.

Millie’s “of course I felt safe” answer: short, sharp and very pointed

“We’ve worked together for 10 years” – the quote doing the heavy lifting

Millie finally broke her silence in a Deadline clip from the premiere, where she was asked directly if she felt safe working with Harbour and answered, “Of course I felt safe. We’ve worked together for 10 years. I feel safe with everyone on that set.” :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

She went on to explain that playing a father–daughter duo naturally creates a deeper bond, especially after years of intense scenes together, which is a polite way of saying, “We have cried in fake snow for a decade, please relax.” :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Putting the focus back on Hopper and Eleven’s goodbye

Rather than dwell on the allegations, she pivoted to the work, talking about how excited she is for fans to see the “closure” of Hopper and Eleven’s relationship and describing the new season as a labour of love. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

She also admitted Harbour pushes her to bring her A-game whenever they share scenes, which is both a sweet compliment and a subtle reminder that the show’s emotional core relies on them trusting each other, not dodging one another at craft services. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

The red-carpet reunion: damage control or just business as usual?

Smiling, hugging and killing off the “secret feud” narrative

At the Stranger Things 5 premiere in Los Angeles, Millie and Harbour posed together, laughed, and generally behaved like two people who have not, in fact, been locked in a silent war for months. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

Photos of them with arms around each other did more in five seconds than any carefully worded statement, sending a clear message that whatever happened behind the scenes, they’re presenting a united front now.

“We have always been united in that” – Millie doubles down

Asked by The Hollywood Reporter why it was important to show that togetherness, Millie shrugged off the idea that it was some kind of staged reconciliation and said, “We have always been united in that… we love this show and we value our friendship more than anything.” :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

It’s a neat way of shutting down the idea that the premiere was a PR peace summit, and more a continuation of how they’ve operated for a decade, only now with an added side of “please stop reading us like a blind item.”

Inside Millie and Harbour’s real-life father–daughter dynamic

Ten years of screaming, crying and saving Hawkins together

From the beginning, Stranger Things built its emotional spine on Eleven and Hopper’s relationship, turning them from traumatised lab kid and grumpy cop into a makeshift family that dragged viewers through several seasons of televised therapy.

Behind the scenes, Millie and Harbour have spoken often about how those scenes forged a strong bond, with her describing him as a mentor and him treating her like a fiercely protected on-set daughter, at least when she’s not trying to throw vans with her mind.

Why those bonds matter when the show hits its final season

With the last batch of episodes now landing on Netflix and the finale due at the end of December, the pair’s dynamic is under more scrutiny than ever, because fans know they’re watching goodbye scenes as well as monster fights. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

If there really were unresolved tensions, they would likely bleed into performances, but early reactions focus on the emotional punch of their storyline, not any sense of actors gritting their teeth through a fake hug.

What actually happened with those bullying rumours?

The reported complaint and the mysterious “internal inquiry”

The original tabloid report alleged that Millie had filed a bullying and harassment complaint with Netflix about Harbour, prompting an internal look at their working relationship before filming wrapped. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}

Netflix never confirmed details, and executive producer Shawn Levy later called earlier claims about a toxic set “wildly inaccurate,” leaving the public with a messy half-story: lots of smoke, but no one officially willing to point at a fire. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}

“We felt safe” versus “something must have happened”

Millie’s new comments don’t rewrite that history, but they do reframe it, suggesting that whatever friction existed has been resolved enough for her to publicly stress safety, trust and long-term friendship.

For fans desperate for a definitive verdict, it’s slightly unsatisfying; for anyone who has ever worked with the same people for ten years, it’s very familiar, because conflict and repair can coexist without needing a full courtroom transcript.

Why this story has gripped Stranger Things fans – especially in the UK

When your comfort show feels like a real workplace drama

Stranger Things has spent nearly a decade as a global comfort watch, including in the UK where entire weekends have been lost to binging kids on bikes and traumatised parents in ill-advised 80s hair.

Hearing that the set might have been miserable underneath the nostalgia hits differently when you’ve practically grown up with these characters and framed half your uni essays around 80s pop culture references.

Father–daughter tenderness in an era of messy male co-stars

Part of the show’s appeal is that Hopper is allowed to be flawed, scared and soft while still being the gruff protector, and Harbour has become a kind of internet dad for fans who like their father figures with emotional growth and a slightly tragic moustache.

The idea that he might secretly be bullying his young co-star clashed hard with that image, which is why Millie’s “of course I felt safe” line has landed like a collective exhale across the fandom.

What this means for on-set power, rumours and future fandom meltdowns

When one leaked story can rewrite a decade of work

This whole saga is a reminder of how quickly one anonymously sourced piece can override years of public affection, especially when it hits familiar nerves about abuse of power, young actors and post-#MeToo accountability.

Even now, plenty of viewers are reading every Millie–Harbour interaction through the lens of “Are they being honest?” which is exhausting for them and frankly a bit much for two people who have spent half their lives in prosthetic blood.

Choosing nuance in an internet that wants villains

Millie’s comments don’t demand blind loyalty to anyone, but they do invite fans to sit with a more nuanced reality where difficult moments can exist inside otherwise supportive relationships, and not every rumour requires a cancellation ritual.

For now, she has drawn a clear line: she feels safe, she values Harbour, and she wants people to focus on the goodbye they’ve built for Eleven and Hopper rather than on a drama that may already be over for the people actually involved.

What comes next for Millie, Harbour and Stranger Things

Finale season, spin-off chatter and grown-up careers

With Volume 2 of the final season landing on Christmas Day and the series finale dropping on New Year’s Eve, the show is about to dominate holiday viewing schedules and group chats all over again. :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}

Once Hawkins is officially closed for business, both Millie and Harbour are heading deeper into blockbuster territory, from Enola Holmes and monster movies to superhero gigs, hopefully without needing another round of emergency HR discourse to sell tickets. :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}

A small win for healthy work stories in Hollywood

In a year full of nightmare set reports and lawsuits, there is something quietly refreshing about two co-stars insisting their decade together has been built on trust, even after a flare-up of very public paranoia.

Whether you fully believe every detail or not, it is at least nice to end the year with a story where the headline is “we value our friendship” instead of “everyone lawyered up,” and where the biggest villain remains an interdimensional slime wizard, not a man in a puffer jacket.

References. A list of references and links used

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