David Harbor and Lily Allen announced their divorce in early 2025. David never publicly commented on their split, but he was seen with a young model shortly after the news broke. Lily put him on blast with his album, West End girlwho spilled a lot of tea about their relationship, including details of their open marriage and David’s infidelity. Lily named the album “autofiction”.
Shortly after WAY dropped, news broke that Millie Bobby Brown had filed one “harassment and bullying” complaint against David before filming the final season of Stranger Things. He attended the season five premiere in November, but has kept a low profile ever since. David did not attend any subsequent events, nor did he promote his new HBO series, DTF St. Louis. After taking time away from the limelight, David did a profile with Variety. He opened up and gave his first public comment about West End girl. From Variety:
In October 2025, a month before “Stranger Things” began airing its final season, Harbour’s ex-wife, Lily Allen, released the intriguing album “West End Girl.” A moment that should have been a victory lap became, for an actor who has long been open about his struggles with bipolar disorder, a terrifying mental health emergency. Months later, Harbor reappears in public; he is ready to talk about it all.
“West End Girl” landed like a grenade. While Allen has said that the album uses “artistic license” and noted in an interview, “I don’t think I could say it’s all true,” lyrics about extramarital activity, breaking an agreed-upon arrangement and emotional manipulation set the Internet on fire. (Her case was that an unnamed husband, envious of her newfound success in performing and chafing against the bonds of marriage, degraded her and kept a separate apartment—the “P—y Palace”—for sexual encounters that went beyond the strict fornications she had permitted). even this relatively level-headed song concludes, “It’s not me, it’s you / And there was nothing I could do.”
“It was weird,” Harbor says now in his first public comments about the album. “I believe it is every artist’s privilege to use their experience to create art, and so I respect her for doing so.” Throughout his career, Allen has drawn on the details of his life and the lives of his loved ones. (Her 2006 debut record includes “Alfie,” a song that casts her brother, future “Game of Thrones” actor Alfie Allen, as an aimless pot smoker.) Harbour, who wasn’t a household name before “Stranger Things” blew up, has firmer boundaries. “I can’t really say much more,” he says, “because it’s my private life. Despite the fact that a lot of people don’t allow me a private life — I value it. And I also value the lives of the people I interact with privately. I just don’t want to talk about that.”
The door is open, I say, for him to push back on any claims Allen has made. He doesn’t want to, but he has one more thought to share. “Stories are complex,” he says, “and that’s why I say I respect her creation of art to channel her experience. It wasn’t my experience.” Moreover, he is no stranger to the transformation of life into art. “My ability to use my experience comes through in the creation of ‘DTF,'” he says. Floyd just wants to feel loved and like he has the ability to share the love. Harbour, putting out into the world a show of uncommon delicacy, can relate. “I want to make things that make people feel safer. My special talent is to empower people to feel that they are not alone.”
(From Variety)
“I believe it is every artist’s privilege to use their experience to create art, and so I respect her for doing so.” That’s a nicely crafted answer. I am not surprised that David took this position and it is the best possible answer he can give. It is Dave Coulier approaches of recognizing that the woman he wronged has a right to her feelings, and that serves more goodwill than being indignant or belligerent. I wonder if he thinks he got off easy and doesn’t want to rock the boat because he knows Lily still has receipts.
Oh, and I laughed too when I read David’s quotes about recounting his experience through DTF. I know he was talking about the show, but the title is a reference to the acronym. I have a dirty mind and that put a whole different spin on that answer. Anyway, David also confirmed that he missed most of December Stranger Things promotions because he was in the middle of a breakdown. Sounds like he’s in a good place right now, though. I hope he continues to do well.
photos credit: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Julie Edwards/Avalon, celebrityphotos uk/Avalon
