Embattled ‘Stranger Things’ Star Mysteriously Absent From Premiere

Stranger Things star David Harbour was conspicuously absent from the London premiere of the show’s fifth season following numerous allegations about his personal and private life.

Harbour, who plays fan-favorite police chief Jim Hopper in the smash Netflix series, did not join his co-stars on the red carpet during Thursday night’s press tour stop in the English capital.

No official reason was given for Harbour’s absence, but it comes as the 50-year-old is embroiled in two controversies: one involving his estranged wife, London-born pop star Lily Allen, 40, and another involving his 21-year-old Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobby Brown, who plays the show’s main hero, Eleven.

David Harbour and Lily Allen attend the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. — Lilly Allen filed for divorce from David Harbor in October, just as the “Stranger Things” press blitz was starting. Rich Fury/Getty Images

Last month, Allen released her first album in seven years, West End Girl, which is filled with damning lyrics and attacks against Harbour, including songs detailing how the couple’s four-year relationship fell apart. Some tracks, such as “P—y Palace,” allude to Harbour having multiple affairs that went beyond the boundaries of their previously agreed open relationship.

Separately, Harbour is alleged to have bullied Brown during filming, leading her to file a harassment claim against him. The Mail on Sunday emphasized that the allegations “did not include claims of sexual impropriety.”

Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Netflix's — Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour were all smiles at the LA premiere of “Stranger Things” on November 6. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Despite reports of a rift, Brown and Harbour were seen embracing and in good spirits during the Stranger Things premiere in Los Angeles last week. Brown later praised the “meaningful” relationship she has with Harbour after years of working together.

“I mean, we play father and daughter—and similar to Noah [Schnapp] and Noni [Winona Ryder], it’s just like you have an amazing friendship,” she told Entertainment Tonight.

As noted by the Daily Mail, Harbour may have missed the London premiere because he was in New Jersey this week filming the new true-crime thriller Evil Genius.

Photos emerged showing Harbour on set for the movie directed by Friends star Courteney Cox, sporting a huge gray beard, denim overalls, and fat suit.

The film is based on the true story of the so-called “pizza bomber” Brian Wells, who wore a collar bomb around his neck during a 2003 bank robbery in Pennsylvania.

David Harbour on the set of "Evil Genius" on November 10, 2025 in Woodbridge, New Jersey — An unrecognizable David Harbour was filming “Evil Genius” in New Jersey on Monday. Bobby Bank/GC Images

Wells, a pizza delivery driver, died after the device exploded during a tense standoff in the street with police while officers waited for a bomb squad to arrive.

The first part of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things will be available to stream on Netflix on November 26.

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