David Harbour has broken his silence on Lily Allen’s 2025 album West End Girl, which detailed the breakdown of their marriage. While Lily said the album blends fact and fiction, with tracks like ‘Pussy Palace’ and ‘4chan Stan’, the songs left little doubt about the messy split between the pair. Taken together, the tracks tell a story of them entering an open marriage, only for Lily to uncover revelations about the Stranger Thing star’s alleged three year affair with a woman named Madeline. While her name was changed for the song, the other woman was later revealed to be costume designer Natalie Tippett. just lily allen singing while wrapped in the receipts of things her husband bought for other women pic.twitter.com/lqf17VuuNH — fagonetta (@fagonetta) March 3, 2026 The album dropped shortly before the premiere of the final season of Stranger Things, and throughout all of it, Harbour had stayed quiet. However, he’s broken his silence in a new interview with Variety. The outlet reports that this period of time led to a “frightening mental health emergency” for the actor, who’s been open about his past struggles with bipolar disorder. Speaking about the album, Harbour said, “It was weird. I do believe that it is the privilege of every artist to use their experience to create art, and so I respect her for doing that. “I can’t really say that much more, because it’s my private life. In spite of 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 that I interact with privately. I just won’t speak about that.” When asked if he wanted to push back on any of the allegations made in the songs, Harbour replied, “Stories are complex, and that’s why I say I respect her creation of art to channel her experience. It wasn’t my experience.” The actor also spoke about what it was like ahead of Stranger Things season five and dealing with the media storm, to which he said, “I had a breakdown,” before laughing. Instagram/@lilyallen “I do suffer from some confusing stuff – it’s confusing as hell. I think a lot of people have a friend or a brother or a co-worker that deals with mental health stuff, and they’re probably pretty confused when that person gets depressed or gets manic or has an episode.” “Under times of extreme stress, that can cause somewhat erratic behaviour, and it’s embarrassing, and I’m ashamed of it,” he continued. “It’s not something I choose, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I do feel like, for some of us, our gifts are inextricably linked with our illnesses. “To have a nervous system that reacts to the world in a too-delicate way can allow me to have that moment that I love on the swings with Jason. But it can also force me, in moments of extreme stress, to act a little weird.” This struggle was compounded by what he called “false reporting,” referring to a Daily Mail article that claimed Millie Bobby Brown had “filed a harassment and bullying claim” against him before season five started filming. Brown later confirmed this not to be true, but it had an effect on Harbour during this difficult time, and he said the timing was a “weird thing” and “came out in a weird way.” Harbour also hinted that he and Brown may be collaborating soon: “Straight up, Millie and I are working on several… You’ll see more of me and Millie – 10 years wasn’t enough. There is a special bond there. I love her. She loves me.” For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured images credit: Instagram/@dkharbour/@lilyallen Post navigation Next story
