Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers have responded to allegations that the duo was verbally abusive toward women on the set of the Netflix series.
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 apologize, the Duffer Brothers said in a statement (via Variety).
However, we think it is important not to mischaracterize 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.
The statement was in response to an Instagram post penned by a former Stranger Things crewmember named Peyton Brown, who worked on the series camera department. In the caption, posted on National Womens Day, Brown announced she would not work on Stranger Things upcoming Season Three due to behavior she encountered on-set.
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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, Brown wrote, adding in a since-deleted comment that There was yelling, there were insults, there were threats.
Although she didnt specify who the two men were in her caption, she acknowledged she was referring to the Duffer Brothers while replying to a commenter. Stranger Things script supervisor Lori Grabowski later corroborated Browns Instagram post, revealing that she was one of the women who endured the verbal abuse Brown initially wrote about.
Peyton Brown witnessed not only my experience, but the similar experiences of others, Grabowski wrote in a post shared by Brown. I dont know Ms. Brown very well, but what I do know is there is absolutely nothing false about her statement. Myself and other women who are willing to share their stories of our experiences on the set of Stranger Things, are living proof.
However, Netflix released a statement Saturday saying the streaming service launched an investigation following Browns Instagram post and found no wrongdoing. 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, Netflix said.