David Harbour on Lily Allen’s West End Girl album: ‘It wasn’t my experience’ | Lily Allen
David Harbor has spoken out for the first time about ex Lily Allen’s tell-all album, West End Girl, in a new interview.
The Stranger Things actor, who is pursuing an Emmy for HBO crime drama DTF St Louis, split from the singer in early 2025 after marrying in 2020. The couple filed for divorce months after their separation.
Allen’s hit album details the explosive breakup of a marriage, including acts of infidelity and emotional manipulation, with the singer referring to the songs as “a blend of fact and fiction.” Alexis Petridis of The Guardian called it “an unstoppable act of personal exorcism”.
“It was weird,” Harbor said. Diversity. “I believe it is every artist’s privilege to use their experiences to create art, and so I respect him for doing so.”
He added: “Actually, I can’t say more because it’s my private life. Even though not many people give me a private life – I value it. I also value the lives of the people I interact with privately. I won’t talk about it.”
When asked if he wanted to counter any of the claims about the album, he said: “Stories are complex and that’s why I say I respect his creation of art to channel his experience. It wasn’t my experience.”
In an interview with VogueAllen said the album is a combination of fact and fiction.
“The things I experienced during my marriage are on record, but that doesn’t mean it’s all good news,” he said. “It’s inspired by what’s going on in the relationship.”
Allen followed the success of West End Girl with an accompanying concert tour. In a two-star review, the Guardian’s Claire Biddles praised the album as “a raw document of marital infidelity” but found the show to be a disappointment.
The singer is also in talks to create a potential game inspired by the songs. “The ink is not dry,” he said. “But, you know, I’m definitely having some conversations with people about it. It’s very exciting.”
Tabloid reports after the release of West End Girl recommended She said Harbour’s Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobby Brown made allegations of bullying and harassment against her. In the Variety interview, Harbor called the timing “weird” and denied there was any lingering tension between the pair.
“You’ll see more of me and Millie; 10 years wasn’t enough,” he said. “There’s a special bond there. I love him. He loves me too.” He added: “I don’t know if people have family and friends that you spend a lot of time with over the course of 10 years; occasionally you get into arguments, disagreements… It was just a simple break and fix thing, once we got everyone out of the way and talked to each other we’re good. Everyone’s too scared to talk about things these days.”
Harbor will next reprise his role as Santa Claus in the action comedy sequel Violent Night 2.
