Peyton Brown, a crew member from “Stranger Things,” announced on her Instagram that she would not be returning for production of Season 3, because she claims that there was verbal abuse toward women on set.
When a person commented on her status, asking who was responsible for the verbal abuse, she said it was Matt and Ross Duffer, the showrunners for the hit show.
Brown affirmed in her post, “I promised myself that if I were ever in a situation to say something that I would. I have 11.5 thousand followers who can hear me say TIME IS UP.”
Brown also mentioned that the Duffer brothers threatened some of their crew members, which forced them to leave the show altogether.
According to Deadline, Netflix conducted an investigation into the verbal abuse and found no wrongdoing or proof at the moment that justified the claims.
The streaming service put out a neutral yet supportive statement of the Duffer brothers, 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.”
Netflix followed through on the inquiry, and since they found no evidence of Brown’s complaint, they believe that both the media company and the Duffer brothers want an environment that embraces different identities.
The Duffer brothers reacted to Brown’s claims in a statement: “We are deeply upset to learn that someone felt uncomfortable on our set…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.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgEm89tHmzJ/?taken-by=peytonnbrown
With this statement, the Duffer brothers tried to both address Brown’s claims with sympathy as well as protect themselves and their show from receiving backlash from the mainstream media.
The problem is that it is unclear if the showrunners are truly taking responsibility for the claims that Brown addressed, or if they believe the allegations are ridiculous because they believe in an inclusive environment.
It is important to note that these are not the first claims of abuse that have been lobbied against the hit show.
Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler on “Stranger Things,” fired his agent, Tyler Grasham, from the talent agency APA, after accusations that Grasham sexually abused child stars came to light.
According to Fortune, Blaise Embry claimed that when he was 17 years old, Grasham “fed him alcohol while he was underage and sexually assaulted him.” APA fired Grasham after hearing about the allegations, and other child stars have chosen to disband from him, including Cameron Boyce, who stars in Disney’s franchise “The Descendants.”
All in all, the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have shattered glass ceilings and allowed both men and women to come out and discuss varying levels of abuse and discrimination in the workplace.
With the number of powerful male entertainment figures being called to answer and defend themselves against claims, one thing is for sure: These movements are not leaving anytime soon.
