Did Lily Allen Just Aim a Stranger Things Barb at David Harbour in Her New Song?

Lily Allen just rolled out a breakup album that does not exactly tiptoe around her personal life. If you have been keeping up: she and 'Stranger Things' star David Harbour are reportedly on the outs, and the music sure sounds like she has thoughts. Meanwhile, Harbour has a separate headache tied to the show itself. Fun times all around.

Lily Allen's 'West End Girl' aims straight for the heart (and a few ribs)

• Artist: Lily Allen (39)
• Album: 'West End Girl' (fifth studio album, first in seven years)
• Release: Digital on October 24, 2025 via BMG; physical release planned for January 2026
• Tracks: 14 total; key songs include 'Pussy Palace', 'Madeline', and 'West End Girl'
• Songwriting: All tracks written by Allen, largely with her musical director Blue May
• Producers: Lily Allen, Seb Chew, Kito, Blue May
• Sound: Pop with confessional, personal lyrics
• Themes: Separation, alleged infidelity, and working through the fallout of her marriage to David Harbour

There is a not-subtle wink right out of the gate: the synth intro on 'Pussy Palace' is eerily close to the 'Stranger Things' theme. Given the timing and the fact that Harbour stars in that exact show, it reads like a deliberate jab as their marriage appears to be dissolving.

Allen is also upfront about the storytelling device she is using here. She describes the record as 'autofiction' — she is drawing from her life but filtering it through an alter ego who sometimes uses stand-in names for real people. Translation: some details are real, some are dramatized, and you are meant to connect the dots without assuming every line is a diary entry.

'I do think it could be considered autofiction. I also think that what was going on in my life was really confusing, because I didn't actually know what was going on in my life. I wasn't sure what was real, and what was in my head. So there's a certain amount of, like, joining dots.'

One song, 'Madeline', plays like a confrontation with a woman the narrator thinks is involved with her partner — references to hotel-room meetups and a repeated refrain about not trusting anything he says. It is pointed, but again, framed through that semi-fictional persona Allen says she is inhabiting on the album.

And because this whole saga is already messy, here is the curveball: an anonymous Reddit user popped up claiming to be the 'Madeline' in question and alleging an affair with Harbour. That post is unverified and should be treated as just that — an unverified internet claim. Still, it adds to the very specific, very loaded context listeners are hearing in these tracks.

Meanwhile, Harbour is dealing with separate 'Stranger Things' allegations

On top of all this, RadarOnline reports that a source claims Millie Bobby Brown filed a harassment and bullying complaint against Harbour before filming on the show's final season began. According to that unnamed source, the complaint ran 'pages and pages' and the investigation lasted months. None of that has been independently verified here, but if you are used to their protective father-daughter dynamic on screen, it is a jarring contrast to hear about off-screen tension.

'Stranger Things' is currently streaming on Netflix in the U.S.