Late last week, claims of verbal abuse by the Duffer brothers, creators of Stranger Things, surfaced online. Now, both the Duffers and Netflix have responded.
Those claims, posted by Peyton Brown, a member of Stranger Things‘s production crew, on Instagram, alleged that the Duffers had verbally abused multiple women on the set of the show, saying: “I guess there’s no better day than #nationalwomensday to say #timesup and announce that I will not be a part of the filming of Season 3 of Stranger Things. Why, you ask? Because I stand with my sisters. I personally witnessed two men in high positions of power on that set seek out and verbally abuse multiple women. I promised myself that if I were ever in a situation to say something that I would.”
While Brown’s posts are now hidden, she later confirmed in a comment that the Duffers were the “powerful men” named in the initial post.
In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter released yesterday, the Duffer Brothers responded to this allegation, saying:
”We are deeply upset to learn that someone felt uncomfortable on our set. Due to the high-stress nature of production, tempers occasionally get frayed, and for that, we apologise. However, we think it is important not to mischaracterise our set, where we believe strongly in treating everyone fairly regardless of gender, orientation, race, religion, or anything else. We remain totally committed to providing a safe and collaborative working environment for everyone on our productions.”
Netflix also commented, saying, “We looked into the concern that was raised when we heard of the allegation on Thursday, and found no wrongdoing. Maintaining a safe, respectful atmosphere on set is important to us, and we know it is to the Duffer Brothers as well.”
When Netflix was first made aware of these allegations, or by what process they were looked into, is unclear. Stranger Things, which has earned five Emmy Awards for the streaming service in its two seasons, is slated for a shortened third season with no current release date.